


Rivals - Book Two

by rTracker



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Mind Games, Power Dynamics, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:38:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 141,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11795754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rTracker/pseuds/rTracker
Summary: The saga continues...This is the sequel to "Rivals - Book One."   Check it out.





	1. Chapter 1

The Factory Hotel is located on Arlington Avenue, which is adjacent to the financial district. It’s still considered a very good hotel, although it’s heyday was in the mid 90’s just after it opened. For the first few years it was the only place in National City that catered to celebrities, politicians and various business elite. That was before smart phones. Before the internet. Before Yelp, Tinder, Linkedin, TED talks, before...everything...basically. It’s decor of black marble and gold looked dated almost immediately and with the rise of boutique hotels, the enormous Factory quickly became a relic of days gone by less than a decade after opening. The selfie generation doesn’t know about it and doesn’t want to know about it, which means that it’s online presence is next to nothing and the financials don’t justify a renovation. Basically, the hotel is great, it’s fancy, it has all the amenities...and no one who is anyone ever goes there.

Perfect, thought Lena Luthor.

Moving L Corp to National City wasn’t just relocating and rebranding. It was an expansion. National City was a tier two city. Real Estate was cheaper. L Corp could buy it’s own building, have the labs, executive and admin branches all in one place, helipad on the roof...not only was the whole endeavor a massive savings, renting the floors it didn’t use made a tidy profit. It just made good business sense. And since the building was a Luthor property, ie: notorious, the unoccupied floors were rented before the ink was dry on the purchase papers.

Expansion meant more staff. More executives. More scientists and researchers. For the top positions, it was pure poaching. Lena’s head hunters reached out to potential candidates, felt them out to gauge interest, passed along resumes in secret, conducted initial phone interviews on the weekends with the L Corp department heads….and for final rounds, people were flow into National City to meet Lena Luthor herself.

At the Factory Hotel, of course. The hotel no one would suspect anyone of any importance to be at. No spies. No photos. No reporters. When Lena hired two new scientists, two C-level executives and a former nobel prize winner turned University professor, it was front page news on the Financial and Technology Review. She’d lured them away from companies on the NASDAQ whose stock values immediately plummeted on the heels of the news. The amount of CEOs who would love to work with Lena Luthor is comparable to the number who would never like to be associated with her at all, for fear of her stealing their top talent. 

These interviews took place over the course of several weeks. During that time the entire hotel staff knew the drill. Don’t talk to Lena. Don’t talk about Lena. No eye contact. No being overly solicitous. Be curt. Be efficient. “Basically make like she’s a very expensive ghost,” said the Hotel Management during one of the early staff meetings. “And we aren’t in the business of anyone knowing we are haunted.” Of course, that’s not the name Jess reserves the room under. Jess reserves the room under the name Marilyn Monroe. That let’s the hotel know what’s to come. The hotel knows that The Ghost will be arriving.

The shiny black town car pulled into the curved driveway of the hotel at exactly 2:50pm. A valet opened the back door and a one perfect stiletto stepped onto the pavement. The valet offered his hand to help her out of the car, she took it yet didn’t look at him. Just walked to the front door. The doorman opened it while staring straight ahead. No pleasantries were exchanged. 

Lena strode across the lobby wearing giant dark sunglasses, and a sand colored trench. She knew where the elevators were. Stepped inside. Hit the button for floor eleven. 

She rode up alone. Got off alone. It was almost three o’clock on the dot. She headed to straight to room 1145. 

It was a long walk. Down the hall and around the corner and down some more. Lena started to get nervous. Took a deep breath. Reminded herself who she was. Lena. Fucking. Luthor. Arrived. A pair of lavish double doors. Looked at her watch. Waited until it was 3pm on the dot. Then knocked. And waited.

After a moment, the doors opened wide.

The woman was about ten years older than Lena. Blonde hair. Curls. Resting on her shoulders. Full face. Round face. Beautiful round eyes to match. She was pretty. In a midwestern way. 

Lena tried to keep her face blank. Somehow this was not what she was expecting. 

The woman extended her hand. 

“Lena. I’m Alice Champion.” 

Alice smiled warmly. Lena gave a pinched smile back.

“So nice to meet you Ms. Champion,” said Lena. 

Lena expected her to reply with “Call me Alice.” It didn’t happen. 

Lena could have twenty thoughts in the blink of an eye. And when Alice didn’t respond with an invitation to call her by her first name...Lena Luthor’s twenty thoughts revolved around the following:

Is this woman nervous? Nervous to be here in a hotel with Lena Luthor? How does she expect to be my therapist if she can’t even speak to me? Does she seriously expect me to call her Ms. Champion? Is that some type of power trip? I’m not sure but I’m certainly going to find out. I don’t play games with people who need to be called by anything other than their first name. Who need to be addressed formally. That’s a sign of weakness. A petty demand. If you need people to address you in a certain way...then you really have no power at all. I have a fucking doctorate and I don’t even…

Lena realized her heart was pumping fast. For a moment, Lena’s eyes looked like a snake’s. One coiled and ready to strike. 

The truth was that Lena wasn’t pleased with the idea of trusting someone...not pleased with the idea of starting a new relationship. Fiona was dead and she would never be replaced. Never. No matter who she found as her new therapist, they would pale in comparison. It was always just going to be second place. And Lena wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of sharing her thoughts and feelings with some second rate-

“Please come in,” said Alice.

Alice swung the doors open and Lena stepped inside. Lena reminded herself that she didn’t have to continue seeing this woman. This was about Lena interviewing her. Not the other way around. And with that little reminder, Lena decided to enter.

Stepped inside the way a billionaire steps into a room. Like she owns the place. Like she’s fearless. Like she’s ice cold. Like you are lucky to be in her presence. Like she’s well mannered. Like she could care less. Somehow it all has the net effect of making people feel like they’re the only other person in the whole wide world.

The room was large. Large. How large? The room had rooms. Plural. The double doors open to a generous foyer. With fresh flowers on tables and an embossed welcome note from the hotel with some chocolates on it. Then there were doors to the left and right. To the left, a giant bedroom with a seating area, a dressing area, and a master bath. To the right, a gigantic living room living room / dining room / bar area with a guest bath.

“There are several seating options,” said Alice, not knowing which door to lead Lena through. Lena had been here before. She walked through the door on the right. Alice followed.

With Alice following Lena’s lead, literally, Lena started making calculations. Had Alice already submitted? Was she that weak? Could this woman not lead? Lena’s heart sank. Probably not. Not Lena Luthor, anyway. That was going to be a big ask of anyone. Lena had a strong feeling this was not going to work out. No matter. Jess had made a long list of therapists for Lena. The idea that the first one would work out seemed…

“How do the couches sound?” Alice was making suggestions. Lena felt like that showed some manner of assertiveness, although, come to think of it, she was actually just asking Lena what Lena felt about it. Strike two.

“Lovely.” Lena walked over the couches.  
As Lena approached the couches, she realized that Fiona had met Lena as a child. And wondered what it would have been like if she was an adult and was meeting Fiona for the first time in this hotel. Would Fiona have been able to get through to Lena? If they’d met as adults? Would the adult Lena have given her a chance? Lena had never entertained that thought before. It made her sad because she knew she probably would have found Fiona to be...too normal. To think that she might have never met Fiona shattered Lena. And then to think that Lena herself might have passed her over or dismissed her was another flash of humility. She decided to at least appear to give this woman a chance. 

Took off her jacket. Set down her bag. Sat down, smoothed her skirt, then looked up to see Alice carrying a straight back chair from the dining table. 

Alice put it down on the carpet facing Lena. And took a seat facing her.

Lena looked visibly surprised. Am I going to be sitting on this couch and she’s going to be sitting on that chair facing me? The feng shui alone was all wrong.

“I prefer a face to face conversation,” said Alice. “Are you comfortable with that?”

“I’m wondering if *you’re* comfortable with that,” replied Lena. Indicating the straight back chair. “The couch is certainly more comfortable than that chair.”

“You don’t have to worry about my comfort,” said Alice. There was something about her tone. It was half reassuring. And half command. Alice was telling Lena Luthor what to do and what not to do. 

And in that moment, Lena realized that Alice was no pushover. Far, far from it. She’d been deferential and welcoming. Then ambushed Lena with this weird chair placement. Then told Lena to “not worry about it.” Told Lena she wasn’t going to be discussing her feelings with her. Told Lena that they were here to talk about Lena’s feelings. It’s basically what she said. Lena’s eyes gave a glint of wry assessment. 

And Alice saw the whole thing.

They just sat there looking at each other. In silence. It felt like a long time was passing. Lena took in a few more details.

Alice was…full figured. Her dress was a structured cotton shirt dress, buttons all the way up the front, a wide collar, pockets on the side of a wide skirt with pleats. Lena recognized it as a knock off from a 1980s Dior creation. It was powder blue and very flattering with her flaxen hair and...blue eyes. Alice obviously had a taste for fashion and appreciated clothes that flattered her. Lena wondered if she’d had the dress tailored, it fit her so well. Her bra, too. Alice clearly knew how to size and source her lingerie, too, because everything was in place.

Lena told herself, don’t look at her shoes. Don’t look at her shoes. Lena knew if she saw her shoes she would know everything about this woman. Her income. Her idea of splurging. Her idea of sensible. Whether she was flirty or more reserved in her personal life. Whether she walked a lot or whether she…

Lena lifted her eyes and stared at Alice. Alice wa looking right at Lena. Seeing Lena. Watching Lena. Waiting for Lena.

It made Lena feel slightly uncomfortable. Lena tried not to show it. Lena realized she’d been asked a question. Alice was waiting for the answer.

“You asked if I’m comfortable. With the seating arrangement? Or this interview?” said Lena.

“I’m asking if you are comfortable with the seating arrangement.”

“It feels strange.”

“Yes, it must. This is very nearly how it would be if we met in my office,” explained Alice.

Lena took a deep breath. She knew Jess had reviewed all of this in advance with Alice. That Lena would pay for two hours but only see Alice for one. The other hour would compensate Alice for travel to and from the hotel, parking, etc. And the room, of course, would be paid for by Lena. Lena almost brought all of this up. Decided to not...babble.

“Okay,” said Lena.

“Okay,” replied Alice.

So that’s how it’s going to go. She’s going to pull a sphinx on me? Ask questions and just sit there? A human inkblot for me to project onto? Lena’s heart started racing again. She was...getting angry. Feeling defensive.

“I assume my secretary Jess sent you the non-disclosure forms?” inquired Lena.

Lena knew Jess had already had those documents signed and in place. Lena just felt like bringing it up. Reminding them both that Alice was bound by not just her professional standards but also by a legally binding contract with monetary damages attached if Alice were to...share, reveal, disclose, mention, utter or repeat anything Lena said during appointments without her prior written permission. 

“Yes. They were signed and returned to her,” replied Alice. Not a whiff of offense. “This is a safe space and anything you wish to talk about with me will be held in the strictest of confidence.”

Alice’s tone was warm, caring, reassuring. Lena felt like...she meant those things. Lena’s mind was still on high alert, yet her body started to relax. It was as if Lena’s heart was listening to Alice while Lena’s mind was still on seek and destroy mission for deception and bullshit.

“Thank you,” said Lena.

“I like to begin by asking clients what they are here for...what are the topics and issues they would like to address and what their hopes for an outcome might be?”

Lena had no fucking clue.

“I...um…” Lena found herself chuckling. At the irony. The goddamn woman had stumped Lena with the first question. 

Lena decided to be brave. 

“I know I need therapy.” 

Lena shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘there you have it. What more can I say?’

Alice just waited. The whole purpose of them being here was for Lena to elaborate. She’d already assessed that Lena was a “slippery” client. One would jump on any question asked, picking apart word choice, answering literally, asking a question about the question - anything to avoid the deeper issues. The intellect taking the lead on everything. As a matter of self protection and preservation. 

Just sitting in silence was truly the best choice in handling Lena.

Lena wasn’t ready to speak. Questions were going to be necessary. Lena was a chess player. Each one of her moves needed a counter from her opponent. Lena could wait, too.

Alice broke the silence.

“Have you had therapy before?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Since i was a child until a couple of years ago.” Lena paused. 

“Why did you stop?” asked Alice.

“My therapist died,” said Lena.

Alice was somewhat shocked by the reveal and her eyes oozed compassion for Lena. It was a worst case scenario, one that Alice had contemplated many times over. What if something happened to her? Her client roster was 20+ deep and several of them were in the middle of arduous internal journeys. Alice had contemplated the ‘what if’ scenario...the ‘worst case’ scenario...how the sudden loss of her might impact patients. Lena just told her this very thing happened to her.

“I’m so sorry that happened.” Alice meant it.

She was so sincere. So caring and open with her concern and genuine condolences...that Lena did something unusual...she start babbling.

“It was nothing. I mean, it was absolutely devastating. What I mean is that I’m no stranger to having people died. My mom died when I was four. My dad when I was a teen.”

Lena was acting desperate. Desperate for more...caring. Desperate for more...condolences. They didn’t come. 

Alice said nothing. Lena was dropping bombs. Thought it best to let her continue. Lena had also told her first lie. That it was no big deal. Alice was making mental notes. Lena Luthor lied about her feelings. Diminished. Intellectualized. Needed to be heard. Needed recognition.

Lena was mortified at this outpouring of personal details in a desperate grab for affection and concern. She decided to hide by piling on the other reasons she needed therapy. Maybe hide the desperation behind the statements she just made in a pile of statements about all the other crazy shit.

“And my stepmother was the leader of Cadmus...my brother tried to kill Superman and is in jail...I’ve had several attempts on my life...was thrown in jail...wrongfully...because, again, my mother...I was thrown off a 37th floor balcony...um, almost died in a helicopter “accident”...

Lena used her hands to create air quotes around the word accident.

“It was really an alien trying to kill me…Ummmmm...let’s see….what else? I’ve shot people... while trying to save myself from bodily harm, of course….um….on the work front, there’s the constant threat of corporate espionage...as far as friends go...i have exactly one...and she’s basically been lying to me the entire time...I pretty sure she’s lying to me...I’m not 100% sure...but I’m pretty sure...and that’s the healthiest relationship I’ve ever had....”

Lena felt powerful. She felt at home when she was overwhelming people. Lena watched to see how all of this was landing with Alice.

Alice honestly didn’t know how to process all of this. She knew Lena Luthor. Lena Luthor was famous and most of the facts Lena just shared had been a matter of public record over the years. Seeing and hearing Lena Luthor herself list off the major events of her life was an entirely other matter. It was fucking heartbreaking and Alice had a lump in her throat. There was nothing she could say in this moment to help Lena. All she could do was listen and try to take it all in.

“Shall I go on?” asked Lena, who felt like a cat batting around a mouse. This certainly wasn’t going to work, thought Lena. The least I can do is show Ms. Champion exactly where she came up short.

Lena waited for Alice to get her bearings. 

In fact, watching Alice get her bearings was some consolation. Lena and Alice had started out playing a civilized game of chess...then Lena pulled out an actual life sized cannon and just blasted the shit out of her opponent. Alice knew it. Lena knew it. Lena had won. Won everything. Won the most fucked up family award. Won the most death and abandonment issues. Won the mortality issues award. Won the ‘I’m terminally unique and no one could possibly understand me’ award. She’s won ALL the fucking awards. 

Now it was time for Alice Champion to concede defeat. What on earth could this midwestern mouse possibly say to Lena Luthor about the decades and decades of loss, betrayal and insanity that she’d been faced with her whole life? What words of sympathy could possibly begin to address all of that? What type of consolation or encouragement was there to offer. None. NONE. What on earth could this woman possibly say to Lena Luthor after hearing her unimaginable list of personal tragedies??

“I would, yes. I’d like you to go on.” 

Lena’s eyes widened. 

That was the last thing she expected to hear. 

Alice just sat and waited. 

Ready to listen to whatever Lena wanted to share. Or would allow herself to share.

Lena felt a shiver of vulnerability pass through her. This woman had surprise her once again. Lena didn’t know what to say. Lena didn’t know how to go on. Lena recognized this had several meanings. 

Lena swallowed. Sat in silence. Unwilling to continue, simply because she wasn’t sure what to say next. And she was not going to say something outloud unless she herself knew what it was first.

Alice sensed Lena had reached a stopping point, internally.

“Why did you decide to go return to therapy at this moment in time?”

Lena reformatted herself on the inside….to take long pauses before answering. Watching her words. Calculating how much to share and how much to hold back. Something deep inside of her wanted to pour everything out and Lena spent a great deal of mental and emotional energy resisting that impulse as she weighed her words. 

“I...um...the helicopter incident. My secretary suggested...it just felt like it was time.”

Lena knew she sounded like a great big fucking liar. She was paying for this session. Why was she holding back?

“What are you feeling right now?” asked Alice.

Pause.

“Angry,” said Lena.

“At who?” asked Alice.

“At me.”

Alice found this interesting. Lena had just listed no less than 10 people she could be angry at. Dead people. Lunatic people. Betrayers. Murderers. Assassins. Yet Lena was angry at herself.

“Why?” asked Alice.

Lena said nothing. Alice waited. No answer was going to come.

“Lena, I sense there is something you want to talk to me about and...perhaps you’re angry because you aren’t letting yourself?”

Fucking bullseye. Lena was impressed but too angry and vulnerable and at odds with herself to give the lady her due. Talking about all these issues, saying them all out loud, even with an air of cool detachment, was emotional. This was a therapy appointment and just being in that type of atmosphere was emotionally evocative in a way that Lena hadn’t been expecting. It wasn’t like it was with Fiona. It was 100x more vulnerable. Something about this Alice woman oozed sincerity and it made Lena start to vibrate on that level, too. The vibrations were pulling emotions up. Emotions that wanted to be spoken and instead were being stuffed back down.

Alice could see Lena struggling. The cool, confident billionaire was now a deeply conflicted woman who self censored, who struggled internally with what to share and with who, who’d been abandoned too many times, who felt all alone.

“Lena, I’m not afraid of you.” 

What? 

Lena was NOT expecting to hear that. Her heart raced. Why was her heart racing? Why were her palms starting to sweat? Lena needed control back. 

“Lena, what is it that you’re afraid to talk about with me?”

What am I afraid of?? 

Lena was outraged at the thought of someone - anyone - accusing her of being afraid of anything. Lena did NOT live in fear and she was certainly not “afraid” of bringing up anything with a woman she was fucking paying to fucking listen to her.

“Go on, Lena. What do you want to talk about?”

This woman keeps talking before I can fucking answer her! Is she trying to make me feel stupid?

“There is nothing you can say that will shock me or make me feel uncomfortable-”

“Sex,” said Lena. Cutting her off.

And that was that. 

Alice and Lena just sat and looked at each other. 

They sat like that for a long while.

It was the first ten minutes of their session. 

45 more to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice wasn’t sure what to wear that day. She had clients from 9am - 1pm. That left her two hours to eat lunch and get to The Factory Hotel. 

Being a psychologist, she found it funny that she was fussing over her appearance for a client. She’d been doing this job for over 7 years and had a stellar reputation, based on the numerous articles she published and the TED talk she gave “Intimacy and the Economics of Satisfaction.” Which became a viral hit for about four years ago. On the heels of that, her personal practice soared. She immediately doubled her rate, got a bigger better office, an assistant and occasionally travels and gives lectures on mid tier college campuses advising students aspiring to enter her field that their biggest chance for success is to remain curious.

Curious.

As she showered that morning, she thought of Lena Luthor. She’d been thinking about her all week. Ever since Jessica called her to make the appointment. Paperwork. NDAs. Secret rooms in hotels with fake aliases. Payment via a third party so as to cloak the transaction, hide the fact that Lena Luthor was seeking therapy.

Maybe she’s not even seeking therapy?

Alice turned the shower on, waited for it to get hot and stepped inside.

Certainly Lena Luthor is already seeing someone. She must have coaches and advisors. All those C-level executives do. They’re never alone. Always surrounded by people. Board members, assistants, employees, advisors…

This can’t be about therapy. We’re meeting in a strange hotel. That’s usually for business meetings. 

Alice debated about washing her hair. Did she have time to blow dry it? She impulsively dunked her head under the shower jets. Wetting herself completely.

This has to be about some type of business thing. It has to be. Maybe she saw my TED talk and has a project that she needs my help on. Maybe she wants an in house therapist for her staff. I hear that’s a new thing. A new perk to give employees. Alice squeezed shampoo in her hands, started working it into her hair. Lathering it.

Her body was voluptuous in the best way possible. Generous hips and tits and belly. Curvy and ample. Sensuous. Once her hair was lathered, Alice rinsed her hands and squeezed some vanilla scented body gel into them. Started lathering under her arms, under her armpits…

Maybe it’s something else. Maybe she wants a psychologist to consult on something she’s working on. Or considering working on.

Alice lifted her breast and washed under it. Using both hands to lift her breasts and wash under them, over them. A shiver ran through her body. Her nipples were hard and when she ran her soapy hands over them, she found herself feeling a sharp erotic pain shoot right down to her crotch. She was more surprised than turned on. Why was her body aroused? It was early and Alice didn’t remember waking from any particularly smutty dreams. She barely dreamed at all. 

She kept lathering her body, around and behind her neck, her shoulders, her sides. She filled her hands with more gel. The steamy shower now starting to smell of hot vanilla. Her hands went to her belly. Lathering all down her front, circling her belly button, heading down near her crotch. She could feel heat. From inside. She was so curious. Why was she feeling this way? She decided to test. Her soapy fingers slipped down into her folds and her clit was so ready to be flicked and fingered that the sensation was pinched, it reverberated through her whole body. 

Alice’s mouth opened and she gasped. She kept her finger there. Not moving. She was too stunned. Touching herself and seeing how her body reacted. It was like nothing Alice had experienced before. She leaned against the wall. Bracing herself. She needed to find out more. She rinsed the soap off of her hand. Brought her fingers back to the entrance of her pussy, swirled them around her entrance. Quickly found she was lubed and ready to be entered. Ever the researcher, Alice slid one finger inside of herself to see how it felt. It slid right in. Deep.

She was so shocked. Surprised. Alice didn’t even like masturbating in the shower. She got hot very easily and the hot water and hot action just didn’t add up for her. She was blonde and pillowy and prefered to be on a large soft bed with the windows open and a light ocean breeze wafting in through light white curtains. She liked things cool. So cool she once had a lover put an ice cube in his mouth and then go down on her. He was Griff. Griff loved to experiment and be sensual. The cool ice countered his hot sweaty mouth and she loved the feeling of both gobbling up her clit and sucking on it. She remembered shuddering and bucking wildly when she came that night. The temperature so perfect. Cold on top. Hot inside. It was just right.

The fact that it was so early, a work day, where she needed everything to go perfectly, and the shower, it kept getting hotter the longer she was in it, her body was overheating, she found herself sliding down the tiled wall, sitting on the shower, spreading her legs open, pushing her pussy up and open, fingering herself, just with one single finger, her body way too hot, on the ground like this the water was slightly cooler, the water was cooling as it left the jets and fell to the floor...Alice was on the floor, all the way down on the floor of the shower, the coolest place she could find, her body splayed open, her finger sliding in so deep, her breath hitching, shifting so the water wasn’t hitting directly onto her clit, but it was spraying on her thighs and tits and it felt erotic and uncomfortable. 

There was something painful about the water hitting her. Her body was extra sensitive and the drops almost felt like pebbles pelting her. She gave into the pain. Just allowed herself to feel the little bits of sharp against her skin as she kept that finger sliding in and out of her pussy, which was still so wet and open. She felt more open and wet than ever before. One finger became two. She was determined to fuck herself. Make herself come. Her body was obviously demanding it. And the curiosity. She simply had to find out what was on the other side of this. Her fingers were thick like her body and when the slid into her pussy, it created the most delightful feeling of fullness. 

She started fucking herself properly. Just giving into the heat, the pain, the need. She used her other hand to help, clasping it behind the first one and using both to push those fingers in even deeper. Pushing, shoving those fingers inside as far as they could go, filling and fucking herself on the shower floor. Her clit throbbing with need. Alice tried to glean information. From her fingers, from her pussy, from her heart rate, her skin. Her body had never needed touch like this before. She was desperate to come and yet couldn’t make it happen. 

Started fingering her clit with two fingers inside, the water was splashing directly onto her face and it was annoying. Powered through it, thinking she just needed to fucking finger that clit for just a few more seconds and she’d spill over into orgasm. It didn’t happen. Jammed a third finger inside. Maybe that would work. Repositioned herself so her legs would open wider, so the new finger would fit. All the shampoo had run down over her face and got into her eye. It stung. She pulled all of her fingers out of her pussy and used both hands to quickly wash the shampoo out of her face and eyes. It still stung. She was sitting on the shower floor, panting and in pain. Her pussy still throbbing but her eye needing attention. Her hair needing to be conditioned and blown dry. Her mind confused.

She stood herself up and rinsed her eye some more. Finished her shower with a business-like efficiency. Reviewed the client roster that she’d be seeing that morning as she blew dry her hair and put on a blue button up dress. There was so much to do that day that Alice forgot all about her peculiar shower. Got to the office by 8:30. Fed herself a bagel and cream cheese, answered emails and saw her first client at 9am sharp.

\---

After her last appointment, Alice had lunch, brushed her teeth and ordered an Uber to take her to the hotel. As she entered the lobby, she was struck by the scale and grandeur of the lobby. Money was important to Alice. When she started studying psychology in college, her father would always criticize her. “How are you going to make any money with that type of degree?” He was a chronic demoralizer and defended his behavior with lines like “I just want you to have a roof over your head, is that so terrible of me?” A lifetime of living with his little jabs and comments led Alice to become slightly overweight and obsessed with earning a good living. Well before she completed her undergraduate degree, Alice was formulated ways of advancing materially. 

It was all about finding a niche. Finding a voice. Becoming a brand. She worked at all of these things so diligently. And...it wasn’t her forte. She was a listener. She was a carer. She had heart and insight and understanding. And as much as she worked and worked at creating a name for herself, a brand for herself...she had only achieved a slight bit of internet notoriety. 

Her dream was to become a Dr. Phil type. A Suze Orman of Psychology. Someone who could write books and dispense advice through the television. That would certainly make her a millionaire, wouldn’t it? A graduate degree, a TED talk and seven long years in the industry later, that dream had somehow died along the way and there wasn’t even a funeral, not even a wake, not even once single toast. When dreams die, they happen in secret, out of the room, when no one is looking. It isn’t until much later do you realize it even happened. The loss had already occurred, long ago, so long that to even mourn it would feel silly, since you obviously were living just fine without it.

As she walked towards the front desk, in the largest hotel in all of National City, the sheer size of it brought back the largest dream Alice ever had. Financial security, nay, abundance. She gave the name Marilyn Monroe to the front desk clerk who didn’t bat an eye. He handed Alice a room key, let her know checkout time was at 11am and pointed out the elevators. He gave excellent service and Alice couldn't help feel special. Important.

She was meeting Lena Luthor, after all. A billionaire. A bonafide billionaire. Alice wondered what her father would say if he knew that Alice DeWitt was meeting Lena Luthor because Lena Luthor sought me out! Alice had changed her name to Champion in between undergraduate and graduate school. Champion sounded like success. She wanted to separate herself from her father, from his legacy, his name, his negativity, his focus perennially on what was missing. She wanted a name change and she wasn’t going to wait to marry some man to have it happen. She was going to pick the name and submit the paperwork and start her new life and new degree and new branding as a Champion. 

It made her father so angry that he didn’t even mention it. Yet always managed to send mail to her with her birth name. Wrote facebook posts using her birth name. Muttered audibly whenever he heard her using it. Perhaps it was her father behind why Alice moved to National City. She had no reason to stay home. Plus, how could you build an international brand in the midwest? She needed to go somewhere bigger. And National City was an up and coming city. She did manage to build a successful practice here and achieve notoriety. She even purchased a condo just 5 miles from the city’s center. Brand new construction. Alice had never been prouder. 

Until now.

A billionaire was seeking a meeting with her.

Alice rode the elevator up. She was 30 minutes early. Perfect. She wanted to get comfortable in the environment. When she saw the double doors...she’d never been in a hotel room with double doors before. When she opened the doors, she was awestruck. The vastness, the wealth, she walked through all the rooms, tested the lotions, sat on the bed (then smoothed it so no one would know she’d tested it), looked inside the fridge, inspected the chocolates in the foyer, saw the different places to sit and decided to let Lena choose where they would talk. 

And for the next 20 minutes, Alice paced. Tried to walk off all the nervous energy. Lena Luthor was known for hiring talent. What might she need my services for? Maybe she’s diversifying? Maybe starting a magazine and needs a columnist? Maybe L Corp was going to create a line of pharmaceuticals and needed someone to interview subjects during trials. Honestly, it could be anything. She wished so badly that her father could see her now. In a room fit for heads of state, requested by Lena Luthor herself! Take that, father!

Alice checked her phone. 2:55pm. The appointment starts in five minutes. She smoothed her hair and dress. Walked into the foyer and waited. 

Little did she know, Lena Luthor was on the other side of the door, doing essentially the same thing. Picture it. If you had cut the hotel like a cake, the cross section would have showed Lena Luthor on one side of the door. Alice Champion on the other side. Both of them waiting for each other. Staring at each other. For what seemed like an eternity.

By the time they were seated and Lena was rattling off her family history, her litany of reasons she needs therapy, horror after horror, betrayal and attempts at genocide and being thrown off balconies...Alice was in a completely different zone. 

Yes, Alice wanted money and success. Yes, Alice wanted to grow her business and didn’t like her father very much and needed to lose weight and had dreams that already didn’t come true. Something that maybe I didn’t mention about Alice...was that she was very, very VERY good at her job. Intuitive, compassionate, focused. Someone could say something and somehow Alice was able to pick up on information that went far beyond the words said. And with every word that came out of Lena Luthor’s mouth, Alice was hearing absolutely everything about Lena’s soul. And what she was hearing was…

“I’m afraid I’ll never be loved. I’m afraid that if people know who I truly am, they won’t want me anymore.”

The reason Lena Luthor said “you can’t live your life in fear” was because she was already doing that. And it was awful. 

 

Alice saw Lena’s look - the perfect bold lip, the manicure, the structured clothes, the warrior earrings, the jet black hair (dyed), the composed attitude...and finally, the self censoring. Such self censoring! Alice had asked Lena what she wanted to discuss. Lena had Alice sign legal documents ensuring privacy and STILL Lena couldn’t get the words out. Yet there was something about Alice’s presence...where people wanted to tell her things...their deepest secrets...it was like Alice’s heart was a magnet and was pulling the words up, out and through people. She watched as Lena waged an internal battle within herself to stop the truth from coming out. To stop someone from seeing her.

“Lena, I’m not afraid of you.”

“Lena, what is it that you’re afraid to talk about with me?”

Alice knew that Lena needed to be addressed openly. Forcefully. This was a now or never moment. Alice knew that Lena needed to be challenged or this was never going to work.

“Go on, Lena. What do you want to talk about?”

“Sex,” said Lena. Looking as if she was the one now issuing the challenge.

It didn’t cross Alice’s mind, not once, that this meeting was no longer about a new business opportunity. She was just sitting with her new client. A woman. With sex and intimacy issues. Alice watched as Lena made little shifting motions, self soothing micro-movements to deal with physical and emotional discomfort.

Alice let the word ‘sex’ hang in the air. Her face placid. Lena waited for Alice to ask for more. Lena felt like she was the one in charge now. Alice’s non response meant weakness. Alice couldn’t handle the bold, direct nature of a Luthor. Alice was-

“Good job, Lena. That was difficult and I’m very proud of you.”

Lena’s mind came to a complete stop. The air in the room felt 5 degrees colder. All the warmth and heat - gone in an instant. Lena felt a shiver. She needed a sweater. She felt...exposed.

Alice just sat there and let Lena take that in.

It didn’t go down well. Lena was humiliated. Anger came up to replace the humiliation, which was too much to bear. 

Being praised like a little girl? A complete stranger patting her on the head for saying a one syllable word? I’ve absolutely destroyed women sexually and this one is trying to give me a lollipop just for having the courage to say the word sex during the daytime? 

Alice saw Lena’s eyes widen, and then narrow. Lena was going through a whole host of emotions and none of them were comfortable. Alice realized this issue around sex was tied to all sorts of other issues in Lena’s life.

“Miss Champion, I have a PhD. I don’t appreciate being patronized...” Lena said cooly. Her tone conveying she was happy to continue dressing Alice down if that what was needed.

Alice waited a moment. Nodded. Wanted Lena to know she was heard.

“I’m sorry if me complimenting you felt patronizing. Many if not most clients take months to share with me the real reason for their visit. For you to tell me within the first 10 minutes is incredibly brave and I am proud of you for doing that.”

There is was again.

Proud. 

She was proud. Of Lena. And Lena shifted her whole body. Crossed and recrossed her legs in the opposite direction. Folded her arms. Swallowed. Lena was uncomfortable with just how...good...it felt to hear that. 

Especially from a woman.

“Lena, are you having sex with anyone right now?”

Lena rolled her shoulders, trying to relieve tension. Talking about sex in the middle of the afternoon with this midwestern marshmallow was...just beyond bizarre for Lena. Lena was used to using sex talk to seduce and control. To acquire and consume. Not to...reveal and communicate.

“I am. Alex. Her name is Alex.”

Lena made sure to throw in the gender. Alice didn’t flinch. Alice also didn’t ask any more questions. Sometimes the most revealing thing isn’t what a person shares, but when they choose to share it. Lena just sat there. Forcing Alice to once again, ask the questions. Controlling Alice through her silence.

“When was the last time you two had sex?”

“It might be more interesting to tell you the last time we didn’t have sex.” 

Alice nodded as if to say...go on.

“We’d gone out to dinner and it was a lovely evening. Should have ended with us in my bed. Instead, as we were waiting for dessert, she...Alex...went to the restroom and when she came back...well…”

Lena started to hold back again…

Alice opened her eyes a bit, encouraging Lena to continue.

“...that’s when I realized my mother had somehow brainwashed her.”

Alice opened her eyes wide.

Lena continued, “Alex came back from the bathroom and the next thing I knew she’s talking about how my mother has a built a time machine and…” 

Lena just shook her head and didn’t finish the thought.

“Lena, a lot of clients...when they want to talk about sex...often end up talking about a parent.”

Lena nodded. She knew her sex issues all came down to the death of her mother. And Lillian. 

Alice continued, “...but this is the first time a client has pivoted to a time machine.” 

Alice paused. 

Lena realized that it was...a bit much. 

“I’m going to need...a bit more information,” said Alice, her tone VERY tongue-in-cheek.

The two women looked at each other and burst out laughing. Somehow both understanding that of course Lena Luthor’s sex issues would involve lesbians, mother issues...and time travel. 

As they laughed, they both knew were agreeing to take this journey together. Alice realized that she wasn’t dealing with a woman with sex and intimacy issues. She was dealing with Lena Luthor. A woman like no other woman on earth. Brilliant. Troubled. Magnetic. Fascinating. Complex. Lena Luthor was like a portal. A link between the human world and the alien world. Somehow straddling both and therefore belonging to neither. A woman in a class of her own.

And Lena...Lena knew that she had found her therapist. 

Lena was going to tell Alice exactly what happened at the end of her dinner with Alex.

What Lena didn't know, was that one day...Lena was going to tell Alice everything.


	3. Chapter 3

Lena was scant on the details leading up to dinner. Just that she’d been seeing this woman named Alex for a few weeks. 

Did she mention that their “first night” together was in her office? And that it was basically hate sex? With a crop? 

No. No she did not.

Did she mention all the role play? Where Lena was the bad, bad Luthor and Alex played the police officer and Lena had to be stripped searched? 

No, dear reader. She left that little nugget out, too.

How about the time that Alex broke into Lena’s apartment, gagged her, tied her up...drew on the walls with lipstick? 

Uhmmm. Again, no. Do you know Lena at all by now??

Well, certainly she told Alice that this was the first time her and Alex had ever had dinner? That even though they’d been having sex almost every single time they’d seen each other, this was their very first “date”? 

How many ways are there to tell you NO? Lena did not mention ANY of this. I’ve literally been telling you almost every single word that was mentioned so far in this therapy session. There was not a single mention of long nights of kinky sex. No mention of transitioning from rivals to lovers. No mention that Alex’s sister was her best friend. No mention of the desire or jealousy Alex made Lena feel. No mention of the games. The power plays. The cat and mouse seduction. Thes intimacy and communication issues. The feelings of abandonment and rescue. The hot fucking and sucking that seemed to heal and hurt all at the same time. The insatiable sexual desire Lena felt, how the mere thought of Alex would cause Lena to cross her legs at her desk and clench them together, hoping Jess wouldn’t notice as they talked about conference calls and meeting agendas. No mention of alien attacks and sex parties with interdimensional vampiric aliens. Didn’t marking up Supergirl’s back with a crop to try to get Alex’s attention. Didn’t mention having to come up with a version of synthetic kryptonite in order to “leave an impression.” Lena. Mentioned. None. Of. This.

I mean, it would have taken ages to explain all of that. Months to unpack it all. And Alice and Lena had only known each other for about...10 minutes? 15 minutes max. 

Lena had to start...somewhere. Might as well be the last time she saw Alex. At dinner. Because the real beginning wasn’t when they first had sex. It when she saw Alex for the first time...and that wasn’t pertinent, was it? When she saw the beautiful red headed stranger...the most striking woman Lena ever laid eyes on? How Lena felt like she...somehow...knew her? From somewhere else? The feeling of familiarity so so strong it defied logic? How shortly thereafter, Lena’s life was put into danger, an explosion, then Lena drawing her gun and shooting someone...then Alex drawing her gun, and killing someone? 

Certainly, those life and death events and the sexual desire Lena was feeling...certainly they...wait...they didn’t somehow...maybe...maybe all those thing...got linked? Sex, death, power, control, intensity...and Alex Danvers. Was THAT the nature of their connection? Was perhaps seeing Alex that day, thinking she was cute, thinking she was hot, and then suddenly life and death scenarios happened? Maybe all of this was just jumbled neurons, playing and replaying those events? Nothing is more high stakes than being naked, than allowing someone to tie you up and take you, and take every single part of you and consume it. Being consumed was simply another form of death, wasn’t it? Death of the self? Is that what’s behind all of-

“Lena...where are you right now?” asked Alice.

Lena looked up at Alice. Realized she was adrift in her own thoughts.

“Sorry, Alex.”

“Alice.”

Lena blushed bright red. It was her first therapy session and she just called her therapist the name of her lover. 

“Yes, yes, of course. Sorry.”

Lena prayed that would never happen again. Alice looked unphased.

“You were going to tell me about what happened at dinner?” asked Alice.

“Yes. Dinner,” said Lena. She turned her focus back to that dinner...to the moments after Alex had returned from the bathroom, made Lena to promise no more games...

“Dinner was going great. We were talking, about our common interests, our jobs...a bit...laughing. It was great. Everything was normal,” said Lena.

Alice noticed that the way Lena said the word normal was not normal. Usually Alice liked to take notes while talking with clients. Since this was their first session, and since Alice didn’t even know if Lena would actually be interested in therapy for herself, Alice didn’t have a notebook. Would Lena Luthor even let me take notes on our sessions? I could use fake names and dates… Alice had a visualization technique that helped her remember things when her notebook wasn’t handy (Alice had scores and scores of notebooks in storage, and several ongoing ones for both personal, professional...and a secret private one...for her use.) Alice quickly pictured a neon sign over Lena Luthor. Two words. Normal on the bottom in bright pink. Above it, the word “not”, blinking on and off in baby blue. Normal. Not Normal. And just like that it was burned into Alice’s memory. She knew that word had extra significance and if at any time Lena mentioned that word in the future, that imaginary neon sign up above would light up, reminding Alice that this was an insight word for Lena, a signpost pointing the way to her interior. All of this happened within seconds. Alice was almost as quick as Lena. Especially when it came to digesting the information that clients were sharing. The faster Alice could ascertain what the real issues were, the faster her clients would progress, the faster her reputation would grow, the faster the recommendations would come pouring in, the faster the money would come in. The recognition. The love.

Lena continued. 

“Alex went to the restroom while they were preparing dessert. When she came back…She looked like she’d seen a ghost, honestly.”

This was National City. Ghosts weren’t real. Aliens that looked, sounded and acted like ghosts, however, was very, very real. Dangerous. Alice listened closely. She’d counseled two people who’d had unfortunate Alien experiences. One of which was severely traumatic and in the course of helping this particular client, Alice had to listen to more than one horrific detail. She tried to remain neutral on the topic of aliens, frankly, she might have clients that are alien who haven’t identified. That was a big topic in the psychology world of late - how to treat an alien who presents as human. Landing on Earth and assimilating was a deeply traumatic experience. Plus being jailed for such an extended period, sometimes with the criminally insane. And yet when Aliens sought therapy, they often had to make up long and elaborate lies, stories that were similar to their experiences in jail, on other galaxies, as an immigrant...and yet wholly, completely made up...so they could appear human. It was like counseling a closeted homosexual who felt the need to present as a straight person with family, made up fake children and all. So even though Alice has been to Alien client sensitivity training, she’d seen the effects of what one of the nastier aliens could do to a human, if they wanted to...and some of them did want to. Some of them wanted to inflict pain and did inflict pain. Alice had seen it, heard it, close up, from one of the victims. It took ages to get through and past. Alice...didn’t like aliens. She just didn’t! She never, ever, ever, ever, ever said that out loud.

When Lena said Alex looked like she’d just seen a ghost, Alice’s mind went straight to the possibility of alien interference. Then Alice quickly pushed that thought out of her mind. When it came to clients, “filling in the blanks” was doing them a deep, deep disservice. How could anyone NOT think of alien interference with a Luthor sitting in front of them? Alice turned up the intensity of her focus. All she could see was Lena. All she could hear was Lena. The rest of the room, everything, just faded away.

Lena felt it. She’d never felt so...seen. Or heard. It caused a...very unfamiliar sensation...in her. One she couldn’t identify. She swallowed. Gulped. Continued.

“She, um...gave rather impassioned speech, actually. About honesty...no games…I was fine with that. I wanted that. I said fine.”

Alice noticed Lena shifting uncomfortably. Made a mental note that ‘honesty’ was clearly something Lena prized and yet the topic of ‘no games’ made Lena itchy. 

“And then...then she says to me...she shows me...she holds up her hand like this....” Lena held her palm out. “And it’s got all this writing on it...my handwriting.” 

Alice looked quizzical. 

Lena answered it before Alice could even speak. 

“Of course it wasn’t MY handwriting,” clarified Lena. Even though she was wrong and it was, in fact, her handwriting.

Lena started to look irritated.

“Why are you so irritated?” asked Alice. 

“It was made to look like my handwriting,” replied Lena, with a tone that implied blame.

Alice sat and waited for more information.

Lena remembered it was their first session and she’d have to get Alice up to speed.

“Obviously, it was my mother,” said Lena. Refolded her arms. 

“You think your mother was in the bathroom with Alex?” asked Alice.

“My mother? Actually showing up to wreak havoc in my life? No, no. She prefers to use a proxy in situations like that. Clean hands. Airtight alibi. My mother fancies herself to be a criminal mastermind. And she almost is.”

“Do you see your mother as a criminal?”

Alice regretted the question as soon as she asked it. Lena had come into discuss sex. Not her mother, or aliens or criminal activity...although for some reason the topic of sex with the youngest Luthor brought all of this up and more.

“I see her as a villain,” said Lena. Pleased with the immediacy of her response coupled with its shock value.  
Alice didn’t ask further. Secretly, at home watching the news, Alice sometimes wondered if Lillian Luthor was a hero. Maybe she was a modern day Joan of Ark, seeing what others couldn’t and being burned for it. Maybe we needed someone like Lillian to protect us. Supergirl had gone rogue once before. As a psychologist, Alice saw Supergirl’s Red K episodes as absolute proof that something much much darker was lying underneath the girl of steel. And it would only be a matter of time before it rose to the surface again. Red K or not.

Lena saw Alice not taking the bait. Returned to the story about dinner.

“Then she said…”

 

\---

Readers...please allow me to take you back in time...to the end of Alex and Lena’s first “normal’ date:

\---

 

“I think your mother made a time machine.”

Lena sat back. Incredulous at Alex’s words. 

“You said red light. I answered honestly,” said Lena. “Do I need to say red light for you to answer me honestly?”

“No. Just one of us needs to say it and then it’s honesty all around.” Alex was happy to clarify.

The ice cream kept melting.

“Say that again?” asked Lena.

“I think you’re mother might have made a time machine.” Alex added a bit more this time. “To get rid of…” 

Lena finished her sentence for her.

“...all the aliens.”

A time machine is exactly something her mother would try to make. Because a time machine is something Lena had been fantasizing about her whole life. Lillian’s entire life trajectory seemed to involve fuck with every single dream and desire that Lena held dear. And all in the name of alien cleansing!

Lena sat back. Folded her arms.

“She’s such a bitch.”

Lena looked rueful, then infuriated. Then realized something. 

“Alex, who was in the bathroom with you?” 

“No one.”

Lena clearly didn’t believe that.

“Someone was,” said Lena. Alex looked confused. She’d been confused ever since Lena started impassionately telling her that she needed to save the world from Lillian’s time machine. None of which Lena seemed to remember. Even though it just happened minutes ago. “Who wrote that on your hand?”

“Lena, you did,” said Alex.

Lena laughed. Loud and sharp. Alex just sat there. “I wrote that?”

“Yes,” said Alex. “And you’re the one that told me about the time machine. And this guy…” Alex looked at her hand, read it. “Eddie. Lena you were like...in a fugue state or something. Talking all sorts of...it seemed like nonsense and yet you were so...you wanted me to believe it so badly. You were very convincing.”

Lena just sat there with her arms folded tight. Peering into Alex’s eyes. Lena saw something in them. Leaned forward.

“Alex...your pupils are dilated.”

“Of course they are. It’s super dark in here.”

“Let’s go.” Lena got up. Pulled out her wallet. She carried cash. Alex was surprised to see that. Lena just started counting out hundred dollar bills. Each one crisp. Lena was trying to figure out what the cost of dinner might have been. She didn’t want to wait for the waiter to bring their check. Alex watched as Lena counted out hundred after hundred, not knowing when to stop. At six hundred dollars, Alex reached her hand out and stopped Lena. Lena clearly did not know the cost of everyday things, like meals. 

“What are you doing?” said Alex. Who realized that the wine list didn’t have prices. And that maybe it was Alex who was naive to the cost.

“I’ve got to get you to the hospital,” said Lena. With urgency.

“I don’t need the hospital,” growled Alex under her breath, making sure no one could hear.

Lena matched her tone.

“Alex, I think you’ve been poisoned. You’re not making any sense.”

Alex pushed on Lena’s arm so that Lena sat back in her chair. Kept talking low and stern.

“If anyone is not making sense here - it’s you,” said Alex.

“Darling, you aren’t well.” Compassion and concern in Lena’s eyes. “Please, please let me take you to a hospital. Who knows what this is doing to the rest of your body?” Lena looked absolutely desperate.

“I’m FINE.”

“Honey, someone has written on your hand. Someone’s put something into you and now you’re talking nonsense.”

“You! You wrote on my hand! This is YOUR handwriting!”

“You’re talking about time travel and time machines…” pleaded Lena.

“You’re the one who brought up time machines to ME!” said Alex.

Lena was frustrated and concerned and upset all at the same time.

“Time travel isn’t possible,” Lena said firmly.

“Well apparently it is in the future and your mother is behind it and do you know how I know that? Because YOU just told me so and guess what Lena? I BELIEVE YOU.”

They sat there for a moment. Both thinking the other was behaving in a manner most insane.

“Lena, when I got back from the bathroom, a future you inhabited your body. I saw it You. I saw you. You only had a few minutes to tell me things. You were somehow able to travel to this moment in time and give me my mission. At the end of the time, you sort of blanked out...I watched as your future self left your body and then you were back to...regular Lena. Present day Lena. Obviously with no memory of having been...visited...taken over...by future Lena. You wrote this on my hand so I wouldn’t forget it. Lena, I’d never seen you talking so passionately, with such clarity and certainty. I KNOW that you had come from the future to visit me.”

Lena looked incredibly skeptical. Beyond skeptical. Disbelief. 

“Lena, you told me things that you shouldn’t know. You said things to be, secret things...that only a Lena from the future would know.”

Every word that left Alex’s mouth seemed to leave Lena even MORE unconvinced.

“Like what?” asked Lena. Believing that Alex was talking such nonsense because her mother or some proxy had poisoned Alex, or did something similar to scramble Alex’s brain. And of course, not knowing and not understanding that, not only what Alex was sharing was 100% true, it was absolutely vital to the fate of the human race for Alex to begin her mission ASAP.

“Like what, Alex? What did I say that convinced you I was from the future?” Lena’s tone was sarcasm coupled with frustration coupled with needing to get Alex to a poison control center.

Just then a waiter arrived.

“How is dessert?”

The waiter looked down. Nothing had been eaten. The ice cream had melted and was just an oozy mess. The chocolate had also oozed out of the churros. What was once a vision of confectionary delight was now a disgusting pile of…

“I am so sorry” said the waiter, clearing plates from them. “Can I please bring you something else? Anything? On the house.”

“No thank you,” said Lena. The “you’re dismissed” was implied.

“I’ll bring you the check.”

“Quickly, please,” said Lena realizing her manners were not that great, added, “We need to leave right away.” 

“Certainly.” The waiter dashed off. Mortified that the final dish had clearly left a terrible impression.

While this was all happening...Alex was realizing the “proof” Lena had offered up. J’onn. The DEO. That Supergirl was Kara. Alex couldn’t risk telling present day Lena any of this.

When the waiter left, Lena looked right back at Alex. Waiting for her answer. 

“You, uh...you told me…” Alex squirmed a bit. Then remembered! “You told me I was going to cut myself on a rusty can two days from now. You’d seen the hospital report.”

“A rusty can.”

“Yes.”

Lena shook her head side to side. Pulled out her phone. Dialed someone.

“If I can’t get you to a hospital, then maybe Kara can.”


	4. Chapter 4

It was almost 11:30pm. Cool air. Dark skies. Moonlight and streetlamps and the odd light up sign in store windows and car headlights. Lena and Alex walked out of the restaurant to the sidewalk. A valet station was in front and diners were congregated, waiting for their cars. Lena took Alex’s hand and walked her twenty paces to the left, so they could wait in privacy. Next to the restaurant was a high end wrist-watch shop. Closed since 6pm. Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Blancpain. A veritable who’s who of Swiss craftsmanship. The window display wasn’t lit up, however, it was still moving. It was oversized movements, moving. The inside pieces of watch, blown up to bigger than dinner plate size, each one twisting and turning, back and forth, gears and springs, metal wheels with notches, spinning, keeping time. Lena and Alex didn’t notice. They both looked...extremely pissed off.

Yaron was parked across the street. He turned the car on, rolled down his drivers side window as he reached into the glove compartment, took out the gun and put it in his lap. Lena looked like she was in major distress. He’d seen enough lovers quarrels to know that this distress went way beyond that. Of course, he would hold back until called. Either by Lena herself or through observable circumstances. In any event, he was ready. He didn’t take his eyes off of her. And with the window down, if Lena looked over, she’d see that she was being watched by him. He was fine with that. In fact, he wanted that. He was like a tiger ready to spring out of that car.

Neither Lena nor Alex looked over at him. They also didn’t look at the time display. And they didn’t look at each other. They were both far too mad. Alex was mad that Lena called Kara. And Lena was mad that Alex made her call Kara. 

Lena looked and saw Kara turn the corner, walking towards them fast, in her penny loafers, a button up oxford shirt, form fitting slacks and a lightweight, quilted jacket. Naturally in her glasses and a pony tail.

Kara walked up and looked at both of them, deeply concerned. Mostly looking at Alex, who looked absolutely fine medically speaking and more than slightly perturbed dispositionally speaking.

“Alex. Lena. What’s going on?” asked Kara.

“Thank you for coming, Kara. It’s so...lucky...you just so happened to be in the area,” said Lena who wasn’t sure if her tone was absolute sincerity or utter sarcasm. It usually was a combination of both when it came to Kara’s uncanny sense of being in the right place at the right time, whenever Lena needed her. And tonight she needed her.

“Nothing’s going on,” said Alex. With the kind of finality that only a big sister can convey to a little sister. Lena didn’t know of such dynamics, she assumed that in this triad of women, she held an equal voice. Just because Alex said one thing, Lena knew that it would be her turn to contradict it. Ha! That’s not how sisters work, Lena! Kara instantly knew from Alex’s eyes, words and tone that she needed to stand down, play it cool, and choose sides. And the only side available was Team Danvers. It wasn’t even a choice. Kara loved Lena and would protect her at all costs, but Alex was family and it didn’t cross Kara’s mind even once to side anywhere else. Kara knew that whatever was going on, she would need to somehow placate Lena and get the full story from Alex later. Lena had not one single iota of a clue that all of this and more had been communicated between the two Danvers sisters in those three words. Being an only child, being an orphan, then being adopted into a family where there was a huge age gap between you and the only other child, who wasn’t even your gender...Lena didn’t understand the sister bond.

“Kara, I think someone has poisoned Alex,” said Lena, who was coming at Kara with both barrels. Her tone both “best friend who really needs their best friend, like, I’m calling you at almost midnight on a Friday night and asking you to please meet me because it’s an emergency and not just an emotional support emergency it’s a freaking medical emergency where life and limb are at stake and time is of the essence” and in the other hand firing off pure CEO “I need you to do this this needs to be done and it needs to be done now and it will be done and it will be done now and you will be the person who does it have I made myself clear.” 

Lena could be very convincing. Kara quaked at the sincerity and power of Lena’s voice and her eyes...and her jaw and those eyebrows and those luscious lips and her milky skin...Lena staring at Supergirl...I mean...Kara...with such need and desperation...needing a hero....needing a friend...needing her best friend...just such need...all directed at Kara...Lena looking beyond beautiful because she’d dressed up for this first date. And now all that beauty and power and need, all focused on Kara...Kara’s mouth dropped open a bit, her eyes widening, lost in...

“I haven’t been poisoned,” Alex said. The flat affect of Alex’s voice. The disdain. The dismissing. Alex was dismissing the notion of poison. Dismissing Lena’s assertions. And most of all dismissing the look of “I have a super crush” plastered all over Kara’s face. 

Kara closed her mouth. 

Lena had called Kara to help and Kara came to help and now it seemed like Alex was exerting some type of mind control over her. Lena redoubled her efforts.

“Listen to me, please,” begged Lena. She grabbed Kara’s coat with both hands, knowing this little bit of theater was perhaps a bit dramatic, however, Lena needed to get Kara on her side and in this battle against Alex Danvers, mere words and tone wasn’t going to cut it. Kara looked down at Lena’s fingers, so close to her body, grabbing at her jacket. A shiver of sexual excitement ran up the back of Kara’s neck. 

Lena leaned in close. Drawing the two of them close again. Kara’s mouth opening like a drawbridge again. Alex watching and getting even more pissed off again. 

“Kara, I’ve been with your sister all night. She went to the bathroom and when she came back she was talking absolutely crazy.” Lena looked over her shoulder at Alex, as if to make sure Alex wasn’t going to run away, like a dog without a leash. Then looked back at Kara. “She was telling me that…”

Alex cut her off.

“I’m FINE!” Alex walked up to Lena and Kara. Put one hand on each of their sternums and pushed them apart. Very very very very VERY much the jealous lover. Even though that wasn’t Lena’s intent AT ALL, Alex could see just how much Kara was enjoying Lena’s hands on her clothes, how much she was loving the look in Lena’s eyes, how much Kara was enjoying being within kissing distance. Alex knew that Kara was probably going to be using that moment as masturbation material for possibly months to come. (Authors note: pun intended, bitches!) 

Alex had to put a stop to all this, NOW. She shoved them apart forcefully. Both of them shocked and a little miffed that Alex would manhandle them. Violate their space. Physically separate them. Use force to get them to do what she wanted them to do, when she wanted them to do it. Without asking. As much as you think this might have been an erotic thing for Lena, in this moment, it 100% wasn’t. She was, frankly, more than a little disgusted by it. She’d deal with that ugly moment and her reaction to it later. She was still concerned that Alex had been drugged and this moment of thuggishness only served to confirm, to solidify, her belief that her mother, Lillian Luthor was behind it. Behind the pain in Lena’s life. 

Kara was also a bit concerned now. She was on Team Danvers the moment Alex first opened her mouth, however, this overt hostility and shoving was very unlike Alex. Kara had to pretend to fall backwards since Alex pushing Kara even one millimeter was a scientific impossibility. Kara didn’t particularly enjoy masking her superpowers. Especially in front of Lena, who so openly delighted in all things Supergirl (except apparently too many surprise balcony visits, which Kara had stopped doing entirely as soon as Lena had mentioned it.) 

“Alex, what the hell?” said Kara.

Lena was satisfied. Her grabbing Kara HAD been the right move. It caused Alex to be impulsive, aggressive. Kara could now see what Lena had been dealing with. 

“She’s ingested some type of poison,” said Lena.

Kara looked at Lena. Realizing that Alex had, in fact, been poisoned!

“NO. I HAVEN’T” said Alex.

Kara was now looking at Alex. Realizing that Lena was utterly mistaken!

“It was my mother,” said Lena.

Kara was now looking at Lena. Realizing that Lillian Luthor had poisoned Alex!

“Kara!” Alex was getting very irritated by this tennis match, with Kara’s attention serving as the ball. Kara looked at Alex, waiting for the next thing to change her mind. Over Kara’s shoulder, Alex saw the time display in the window. Bouncing left to right. Just like Kara had been bouncing. Watches. Watching. Time. Bouncing. 

There was no way Alex could explain what had happened and why, no here on the sidewalk, not in front of Lena (already tried that, it didn’t work) and frankly, Alex wasn’t sure she even wanted to share with Kara the information about the time machine. Even if Alex shared this information with Kara in private, would Kara believe it? She was just in her apartment making star charts, plotting out future events as if the future was set in stone and nothing on earth or Krypton could change it. Maybe Kara wouldn’t believe there was a time machine. Maybe Kara wouldn’t believe Alex. Maybe no one would. Maybe even Alex shouldn’t believe it.

Alex just stood there lost in thought. Kara and Lena watched. Too fascinated to be concerned. 

Alex realized that maybe Lena had been poisoned. No. NO. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw her change. I saw her know things that she shouldn’t know! She knew about J’onn! The DEO!

Lena and Kara were a rapt audience as a host of thoughts and feelings played out on Alex’s face. 

Alex remembered being with future Lena. Future Lena was looking at her watch. Counting down the seconds they had together with such precision. The precision of a swiss watch. Future Lena was on a mission. It was not crazy talk. It was focused. Detailed. Alex could just feel J’onn’s hand in it. He must have assisted her. Must have helped her organize the talking points. Must have practiced with her the exact things to say and do in order to get through to Alex. No one knew Agent Alex Danvers better than J’onn. And it worked. They’d convinced her. At least to look into it. Alex could tell, now, with a bit of reflection, that Lena had been on a DEO mission when she showed up during the dessert course. 

“Alex…”

It was Lena. Lena looking at Alex with such...love...and concern. Alex looked at her and remembered the last things that Future Lena had said.

"Please don’t give up on me. Please, Alex, promise you won’t ever give up on me.”

In that moment, looking at present day Lena, upset and confused and concerned...while remembering Future Lena, declaring her forever and undying love to Alex and asking, pleading with Alex to not give up on her...In that moment, Alex decided to stand with Lena and do what she’d asked.

“Will you please, please let me take you to the hospital?” asked Lena.

Lena took Alex’s hand in hers. Their flesh instantly hot, instantly awakened and activated. Their cells dancing at the contact, wanting so much more. Lena’s fingers started to caress the soft flesh of inside Alex’s palm. The touch was loving and sexy and intimate. So much so that it pained Alex to say…

“No.”

Even Kara was surprised. Although at least her jaw didn’t go slack. Thank God.

Lena looked devastated. Being rejected like this. Being turned down. Being told no. Alex swallowed. She could see the hurt she was causing. 

Unfortunately, Agent Alex Danvers knew that hurting someone is the only way to save them.

Alex knew she was going to need to say a little bit more in order to put a pin in it and end this conversation and get out of here before Lena brings up the topic of a time machine in front of Kara. 

“I was just teasing.”

Lena stood there. Stunned. Was Alex really teasing? Or was saying she’d been teasing a lie? Lena knew that no matter what the answer way - either way Alex had been being less than honest with her. 

Lena slipped her hand off of Alex’s...and as she did so...Alex felt every part of Lena slipping away. It was like a tearing away. And when they were finally no longer touching, Alex felt like the air around her got ten degrees colder.

Kara watched Lena release Alex and take a step back. Even Kara felt the air get cooler. Normally this would have been a moment where Kara would have felt…just a lil bit smug. Not this time. This felt like a profound shift was occurring. Kara was watching it. Alex was watching it. And no one was doing anything to stop it.

You see, Lena had already had watched the love of her life descend into madness. And she tried everything under the sun to stop it. Tried to get Lex to see a doctor. Watched up close as his brain turned to madness. Endless conversations, endless pleading and convincing...none of it worked. Lena looked back on all those wasted hours, days, weeks and months trying to save Lex as a profound waste. It was all for naught. This long, complex and devastating history of dealing with mind games...coupled with the fact that Alex said she was “just teasing” after they had promised each other, swore to each other and used the safety word of “red light” which was supposed to be inviolate and meant an immediate stop to any and all game, complete honesty, trust and safety between them...Lena was FUCKING. DONE.

“Okay, Alex.” The expression on Lena’s face was both cold and heartbreaking. “Thank you for a lovely dinner.” The sarcasm was dripping. Lena hiked her purse up over her shoulder. Obviously about to exit. “Kara, I’m sorry to have called you for...no reason.” More sarcasm. Lena started to walk off. Towards Yaron. Saw the car window open. Saw him staring at her. Realized he’d been watching her this whole time. Instant relief and gratitude welled up in Lena, knowing that she had NOT been alone this whole time. This whole time she’d had someone truly in her corner. 

“Lena!” 

It was Kara’s voice. Lena turned around. Saw Alex first. Who looked like a lost puppy. Devastated. And yet not doing a single thing about it. I’m right here, Alex. Say something. Stop me. Grab me. And yet Alex just stood there doing nothing. 

“Kara, I’ll be in touch. Thank you.” 

And with that, Lena didn’t say goodbye. Didn’t shoot a last look at Alex. Just turned and stepped off the sidewalk. Yaron lept out of the driver's seat, standing on the street waiting to open the rear passenger door for Ms. Luthor as her heels clicked along the pavement.

Click, click, click, click, click.

It sounded like a second hand on a watch, moving forward, counting off moments of time passing. Moments of time advancing forward, every second of the present, leaving you, the present moment disappearing from you, click, click, click, tick, tick, tick… Yaron opened the door. Lena ducked into the car. Yaron closed the door. Nothing else to see except the glossy black sheen of the car. It was like Lena Luthor had been swallowed up by a black hole. 

Yaron shot Alex and Kara look as he walked back to the drivers side. A look that said, “I’ve been watching both of you this whole time.” Kara and Alex both were unnerved. They knew better than to be observed for such a long time and not know it. They’d both had extensive surveillance training. They knew how to watch people and how to know if they were being watched. Both were equally important. The latter perhaps even more so. They stood on the sidewalk looking very ashamed and guilty. Yaron got into the driver's seat. His tinted window raised up, swallowing him into the same black hole Lena was in, and they drove off.

The Danvers sisters just stood there. The date had obviously ended disastrously. Alex’s lover and Kara’s best friend just walked away from them both, devastated. Neither or them knowing what to say or do to fix it. They’d just gotten major side eye from her driver. Who’d been watching them like a pair of fools as opposed to one of the world’s most highly trained and secretive agents and her alien with the powers of super strength, heat vision, x ray vision, freeze breath and flight at her disposal. 

And now, to top it all off, the manager of the restaurant was running towards them, breathless in his three piece pin striped suit.

“Ladies, excuse me.” He was surprised to see that Lena Luthor was gone and in her place was a...very beautiful if not nerdily dressed blonde. He was running out to save his reputation with Lena Luthor and now that Lena Luthor was no longer there, he wondered if he should continue with this little gambit. He decided that perhaps these “friends” of Lena’s would pass along the message and so continued.

“I heard dessert was no to your liking. Please, please may we make it up to you? The pastry chef and the head chef will not sleep tonight if they don’t have one more chance to tempt your palates with the world’s finest chocolate confections.”

Kara heard the words pastry, chef, tempt, palette, chocolate and confection. She looked like a dog that heard the jingle of it’s walking leash. 

“On the house, of course.”

Kara put two and two together. Free. Dessert. From this guy. It was all resting on Alex. The manager looked at her and hoped she would say yes. 

She wanted to leave. She wanted to start on her mission. She wanted to begin researching who this guy Eddie was. She wanted to figure out how she was going to contact Lena and what she would say to her. 

She ALSO wanted Kara to not question her about time machines. Which meant she needed a reason to explain why Lena Luthor was saying Alex had been, maybe, poisoned.

Alex leaned into Kara and whispered in her ear. “We had a bad dessert and Lena thought I should go to the hospital. I’m fine, I promise.”

The only thing in the world that Kara cared about in this moment was getting into this restaurant and eating their free desserts, so Kara decided that what Alex said made perfect sense.

“Gotcha,” said Kara.

Alex knew she had her hook line and sinker. Sometimes manipulating Kara was just sooooooo easy. Alex took Kara’s hand and decided to reward her puppy with some treats.

“We’d love to,” said Alex to the manager, who lit up like a Christmas tree and led the ladies inside, to the chef’s table, where they were fawned over and fed bites of every single dessert on the menu. 

Kara had a million questions for the pastry chef, about technique and ingredient sourcing...which was perfect.

Alex pulled out her phone.

Alex vowed to herself that she was not going to give up on Lena. That no matter what she was going to find this guy and stop him.

Started googling the name “Eddie Carmichael” and “waste management.”


	5. Chapter 5

If you are wondering if Lena told all of that to Alice...guess what? Yup. You guessed correctly. She did not.

“We were eating dessert and we...got into a disagreement.”

That’s all she said! Lena can be very, very slippery. Evasive. Withholding. Even cautious - at times. And this was most definitely one of those times. 

She didn’t want this therapist to think Alex was mentally ill. Or dangerous. Or bad for Lena in any way. Lena was still very committed to the idea of being with Alex. They might be in an awkward patch right now, but the idea of Alice steering Lena away from Alex...Lena didn’t want that. At all.

Alice just sat there. Waiting for Lena to elaborate. Lena didn’t elaborate. She just took a deep breath and remembered all that had happened. The games, the crazy time machine talk, pleading with Alex to go to the hospital, calling Kara, having the Danvers sisters team up and chose each other over Lena…

That fucking smarted.

Alice saw a pained expression flash over Lena’s eyes. 

“What’s that?” 

Lena looked at Alice. Caught! Pretended she wasn’t.

“What’s what?” asked Lena.

“You look upset. What were you thinking about?” 

“Well, we were in a fight - a disagreement - and it wasn’t pleasant,” replied Lena. 

Alice took a bit of a stern tone. She knew the best way to deal with Lena is to not be patient with this type of hemming and hawing.

“Lena, this can take as long as you want. I can’t force you to talk to me, I can’t force you to trust me. How much to share with me and when will ultimately be up to you.”

Lena’s mind scrambled. Alice was calling Lena out on not sharing. And yet respecting Lena’s choices and giving her the power. The power to get in her own way. The power to take her time. The power to lose out on opportunities. The power to be meek and scared.

Naturally, this not so subtle challenge was met by Lena with gusto.

“What do you want to know?” asked Lena.

Alice knew this was just another way of avoiding the responsibility of sharing. Just another form of sliding sideways, being cute and coy, making it seem like Alice was prying out what Alice wanted to know. Lena would love nothing more than to be put on the examination table and have a woman dissect her from head to toe, taking out every organ, holding it up to the light, twisting and turning it, looking at every angle, speaking out loud about everything they saw. Lena wanted to know why people were so fascinated with her. What did they see? What were they so curious about? Lena was certain that anyone else in her position would have become EXACTLY like who she was today. Deep down, Lena felt ordinary. 

Any orphan, anyone brought into the Luthor fold, anyone with Lionel’s genetic brilliance...anyone who played Lex over and over and over again in chess, twice orphaned by the death of her father and with no maternal love that she could ever remember...Lena was certain that anyone on earth would be saddled with crippling abandonment issues and an unquenchable desire to achieve something good.

Alice just sat there. Lena had once again drifted off into her own world of thought and emotion. Not sharing any of it. Lena looked at Alice, who was once again patiently waiting.

Lena gave Alice a look that said, “I asked you the last question...and I’m waiting for an answer.”

Alice decided to do something surprising.

“I’ve read that you are quite the chess player,” said Alice.

Lena cocked an eyebrow. Now that was a surprise. Lena’s chess skills were not a secret. She was a National finalist when she was in High School and was selected to be one of a team of American students to travel to Russia and compete in an exhibition tournament, however, there were threats on her life from a fringe group based in Eastern Europe interested in some political cause or another. The US Government investigated these threats and determined they were just a political stunt and that Lena was safe to travel. Lillian, being Lena’s guardian, had final say and refused to let Lena travel with the team. Lena was humiliated. Infuriated. She spent the week in school, watching the results on the nightly news, being looked at by all the other students who knew Lena should have been there, feeling utterly, utterly powerless. Lex was a true comfort to Lena during this time. He’d been through similar things when he was a teenager. When he was under Lillian’s “control.” He reminded Lena that she would soon be a legal adult. That she would soon be in control of her portion of the family fortune. Still, that week, being stared at, her peers wondering why she stayed back, assuming Lena was afraid...it was one of the moments that turned her into a risk taker. 

ONCE AGAIN! Lena Luthor had been asked a simple question...and had drifted to an internal landscape of emotion that was incredibly deep and complex. Alice realized something that she had not known moments before. That as much as Lena needed to be “pushed” into places - Lena’s inherent brilliance contained the immediate ability to connect each seemingly simple question to a host of past events, both external and internal, that shaped her, informed her, left a mark on her...Alice gulped. Working with Lena Luthor would be like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Maybe Lena was right in taking her time offering information. Sometimes, when clients share too much too early, they spook. Never to return. Alice felt a shiver up her spine. The fear of Lena never coming back.

“Yes. I play chess. Started at age four,” said Lena. Alice was about to speak when Lena continued, a bit of a sharper tone to her voice. “Have you been reading about me?”

Now it was Lena who was issuing challenges. Alice realized the interview portion of this session had arrived. Alice gave herself a sharp rebuke. Lena had been sharing. Opening up. Now Lena was on the defensive and launching missiles at the same time.

“I’ve read a number of articles on you...over the years,” said Alice. Sending out surface to air missiles of her own, blasting Lena’s questions before they could do any lasting damage. Alice was being honest. Lena had to know that any therapist would have read at least a few newspaper or magazine articles on the Luthor family over the years. Finding a therapist who hadn’t would be next to impossible. And if you did find one who didn’t know about Lena Luthor and her history it would clearly be a sign of cultural and technological incompetence. (Or a bonafide guru living on a remote mountain top. Although I suspect even a 300 year old hermit would also know about Lena, just from her vibrational signature alone...rippling through the ether.)

Lena had stopped talking altogether. Alice saw the shutdown happen. Made a mental note that having articles written about her...really bothered Lena. Always had. Until Kara Danvers started writing glowing profiles. Those really touched Lena and were a salve on a lifetime of wounds Lena had experienced with the press. The scandalous exposes, the slander, the gossip, the innuendo, the stark, factual reporting of Lex and his crimes, the front page headlines of the nation’s most reputable papers reporting on Cadmus…

“Lena, the reason I am bringing up chess...is because if you want to work with me, you need to know that I’m not your opponent.” Lena’s expression remained unchanged. She was thinking about countless TV stations reporting on her “breaking out of jail.” Which was a lie. It was her mother who broke her out. Lena was more than willing to wait until her day in court. Her lawyer had met with her that afternoon and assured Lena she would be released on bail the next day and that the charges would be dropped shortly thereafter. Lillian broke her out! Against her will! 

Alice could see that Lena was getting more and more distressed, yet she wasn’t talking. And things had been going so well. Lena was sharing. They’d be laughing! What were they laughing about? Alice considered bringing up time travel. She knew that would just be her trying to “make things better.” Just trying to “make Lena talk.” Just when she’d told Lena that she wasn’t going to try to make her talk.

Alice just sat there and tried to honor Lena’s choices. Her timeline.

Lena felt sick and upset and uncomfortable and angry. The feelings were so intense...and yet...so familiar. The same feelings that she’d had when working with Fiona. Suddenly, it was as if Fiona was in the room. Standing just over Alice’s right hand shoulder. Lena could “see” her. Fiona looking at Lena with such compassion and understanding and encouragement. Just as she had in countless sessions, when Lena was upset and confused and angry. 

Lena could “hear” Fiona speaking…

“Lena, yes. It’s safe to speak. It’s safe to speak.”

Alice saw another expression wash over Lena’s face. A deep vulnerability. Lena’s lower lip started to quiver. She wanted to speak. Something wanted to be said. Alice was now wearing an expression of compassion and encouragement. And “seeing” Fiona and actually seeing Alice...both women wanting Lena to share, to speak her truth...it was overwhelming. Somehow Alice’s desire, it was so apparent that Alice genuinely wanted Lena (to speak), genuinely desired Lena (to open up), this new person wanting her and desiring her...it was a powerful tonic. Not just for the young Lena (who’d lost her mother), not just for the teenage Lena (who was discovering her sexuality and started being very secretive with it), not just for the adult Lena (who now had a host of complicated needs regarding sex and relationships and women)...all of those Lena’s were sitting in front of Alice, in the same body, at the same time...all of those Lena’s wanting to be desired and listened to and heard and cared for...by an adult woman. And there Alice was...ready and willing to do just that. 

Lena suddenly noticed Alice’s ample breasts. Her thick strong legs crossed under that button up dress. In an instant, Lena pictured crawling across the floor, on her knees. Stalking Alice like a panther. Arriving at her feet. The three inch heels. Taking each one off. Slowly. As she looked up into Alice’s eyes. Caressing Alice's ankles. Running her hands up Alice’s calves. She pictured Alice’s breath changing. Little whimpers of desire and protest as Lena started to unbutton the dress, starting from the bottom and moving ever upward, unwrapping Alice like a great big piece of candy.

Wait.

Maybe Alice would be telling me to do that. Maybe she’d order me on my knees. “Do it, Lena. Get on all fours and crawl to me.” This country bumpkin blonde bossing me around.

Lena’s eyes looked dark and intense. Alice had no idea where Lena was now. It looked scary and intriguing and intense. Another shiver went up Alice. Right up her legs. Lena had just looked at Alice’s legs. Alice wondered if her shoes looked cheap to the billionaire. Maybe her dress too common.

That wasn’t it at all. The dress...was too accessible. The buttons...too inviting. 

Lena wasn’t sure which way to take the fantasy. Would she rather seduce Alice? Or have Alice take control. Lena looked unsure. Alice saw it. Knew this was the time to strike.

“Lena, you said you wanted to talk about sex. Would you like to talk about sex?”

It was a stab in the dark. One last attempt at controlling things. At getting Lena’s attention. One last chance at keeping what might be the most important client of her career. Little did Alice know - she’d just hit a bullseye.

Lena felt like Alice could see right through her. Lena felt like Alice knew what she’d been thinking. Lena felt exposed in a way she’d never felt before. Did Alice know I’d just been fantasizing about her? It sure seemed that way! And yet, Alice didn’t seem phased by it at all. It was because Alice didn’t know! Lena Luthor didn’t know that, however, and all of this combined...Lena felt like Alice knew...that Lena had just been desiring her...had just been wanting to be between her legs, no matter how she got there, whether by her own design or by being forced there...it didn’t matter. Lena wanted to bury her face in Alice’s pussy and make her moan. And Alice, didn’t seem bothered by this one bit. 

In fact, Alice seemed...nonplussed by the notion. 

Somehow, this turned Lena on even more. 

Lena was so used to people desiring her...so used to people wanting to fuck a Luthor, to fuck Lena Luthor, to see her naked, to sneak pictures of her naked body in the high school showers, to expose her in the papers, to kill her...the idea that someone could have Lena on her knees and...not care...was one of the more strangely intoxicating sensations Lena had ever experienced.

Of course, none of that was really happening. Alice didn’t know what was going on in Lena’s mind. Alice can’t read thoughts. Lena was projecting. Projecting her hopes, fears and desires onto Alice and solving all of them through sex.

Lena felt hot and sexy. She crossed her legs so she could covertly send sensation to her own clit as she looked at Alice and said, “I would.”

Alice was so relieved. She’d not lost her client after all!

Lena saw Alice’s pupils blow.

Alice was still feeling out her client. It was their first session and Lena was complicated. Alice was trying multiple approaches. Decided to continue with a bold approach. 

“Did you and Alex make up? Did you have makeup sex?”

Lena was enjoying this frank and clinical discussion of sex. It was new and different. Alice wasn’t whispering these questions into Lena’s ear in an attempt to turn her on, she was just speaking them to Lena in a normal tone of voice, both of them fully dressed, in business attire, seated across from each other in a hotel living room area, in the middle of the day. Looking dispassionate yet interested. It freaked Lena’s shit out. 

“No. I went home alone.”

“Were you expecting to have sex that night?” 

“Yes,” answered Lena.

Alice was just asking these questions in a full voice! It was so weird! 

“So what did you do? When you didn’t get the sex you’d been expecting?"

Fucking. A. Alice was honing right in on the issue. This blonde was no bimbo. She was soft and pillowy on the outside and a tank on the inside. Lena gulped.

And instead of just remembering...Lena decided to TELL Alice exactly what happened. 

Her thinking was...if Alice can handle hearing what happened next, then we can truly continue this therapy journey together...


	6. Chapter 6

“So what did you do? When you didn’t get the sex you’d been expecting?”

Lena remembered. Walking away. From Alex. From Kara. Crossing the street. Yaron letting her into the car. Driving home. Getting more and more…

Angry.

“I went home,” said Lena. 

The elevator opened to Lena’s penthouse. She made sure the security system was armed. Walked into her kitchen. Hungry. Or was it thirst? She got a glass. Walked over to her fridge to fill it with water. Stopped. She wasn’t hungry or thirsty. She was angry.

Turned to her living room. Cocked her arm. Threw the empty glass as far as she could, as hard as she could.

Was there a crash? A shatter? Shards of glass flying in every direction? No.

The glass landed on the far couch. Softly. On the cushion. Barely made a sound. This only made Lena even more angry. She went upstairs to her bedroom.

Was about to kick off her heels, her feet hurt. Her body had swelled up with the anger and her swollen feet started to ache in the heels. The heels she’d put on for Alex. The dress she’d put on for Alex. The make up. The hair. All for Alex. And where was Alex now? Not here in my bedroom. Not here holding me. Kissing me. Not here taking me to bed -- like she was supposed to. Not here making love to me! Lena started punching the pillows on her bed. She was furious. At Lillian. At Alex. At life. At herself. At being alone yet again even after trying so hard! Fists flying into her pillows with all her might, her pony tail starting to come undone a bit, her heart racing, her blood boiling. 

Lena couldn’t have looked more composed as she talked about that night to Alice. Leaving out all the emotion. And most of the details. Walls. Gates. Entry codes. Passwords. Lena’s heart was behind a firewall.

“I was...upset,” said Lena. 

Alice could tell there was a lot more to the story. She could see countless memories flash across Lena’s eyes. Memories from that night. Memories from the past. Alice knew not to say a word. Just let Lena remember.

Punching pillows was something Fiona taught her. It didn’t make much noise and it was a way for Lena to use her body with anger and not harm herself. At around age 15-16, Fiona started to see that Lena was definitely a candidate for self harm. She had an outsized sex drive, was probably attracted to girls (still a bit of a taboo at the time), mother issues, going through puberty, hormones, body changes, being a public figure, switching schools...not to mention the academic pressure that Lena put on herself...coupled with the fact that Lillian watched Lena’s grades like a hawk and Lena didn’t want to give Lillian the satisfaction of seeing anything less than the highest marks. Lena was angry as hell and didn’t have one single outlet. Fiona knew Lena was going to act out somehow. She had to be “perfect” on the surface and Fiona could see that underneath that surface was a will and a drive...to be bad. 

Lena had seen some girls cutting in the school bathroom one day. They were laughing while they did it, carving into their forearms little scratches that drew blood, making patterns on themselves that the teachers and other students would surely see for at least a couple of weeks Lena was disturbed by this and mentioned it in her session with Fiona a few days later. Fiona acted like it was no big deal, however, they had a discussion about why someone might do that to their body, and all the different feelings a body can have, and how sometimes the line between self harm and self love can become very blurred. Lena was too young to understand this but Fiona spent the last twenty minutes of the session teaching Lena how to punch pillows to release anger and aggression.

First Fiona punched the pillows. Demonstrating with the throw pillows on the couch. Fiona hit them hard with her fists. Over and over. Making deep guttural sounds as she did it. Large exaggerated sounds. Releasing sound, emotion, energy as each fist landed, pushing the pillow in. 

There was something so strange about watching Fiona move like this. Usually Fiona sat in her chair facing Lena. The only other things she’d see Fiona do was walk Lena to the door, or greet her at the door, or pick up a pen, or reach for a glass of water. So to see Fiona get up, cross the room, bend over and start exerting herself pushing her fists, punching, grunting, making deep moans...it captured Lena’s attention. She never forgot that moment. From that moment on, she knew she had a kink for hearing all the unexpected sounds and words that could come out of a woman during something primal...with emotion and exertion. 

Fiona then made Lena punch the pillows. She was extremely self conscious and didn’t want to make those noises. Didn’t want to say words like “I’m so angry at you!” while punching these pillows. Not to mention while someone was watching her do it. Fiona was extremely concerned that Lena might take up cutting and demanded that Lena do it. “Do it. Do it, Lena.” Fiona’s voice was stern and steady and strong. There was not one hint of compromise. Lena punched the pillow hard. “Good. Again.” Lena punched the pillow again. “Good, Lena. Again.” Fiona’s tone...it wasn’t the therapy tone. It was something else altogether. It was protection. It safety. It was commanding. It was uncompromising. It was do it or else. It was do it for your own good. It was do it now. It was do it for me. It was do it. Do it. DO IT. Suddenly, Lena was punching that pillow with all her might, fists digging in furiously one after another. Fiona’s voice didn’t stop. The tone changed a bit. “Good girl, Lena. Keep punching.” Lena did as she was told. Sweat building up. “Make some sound.” Lena didn’t make any sound. Fiona knew Lena needed coaxing. Fiona started making the sounds she wanted to hear from Lena. “Ughhhhhh! UGHHHH!” Lena kept punching and was shocked at the effect of her fists and Fiona’s moans in sync was having on her. “Keep punching.” Lena kept punching. Fiona kept moaning. Moaning in anger and emotion, releasing and expressing through her voice. Letting Lena know there was nothing shameful about making these sounds. In fact, those sounds were exactly what Fiona wanted to hear. “I can’t hear you, Lena.” Lena meekly make a sound. “Mmm.” Her punches got weak as her embarrassment increased. Fiona said, “Your mother won’t care if you cut yourself, will she? That’s terrible, Lena! That’s something to be angry about!”

Something in Lena clicked. It was true. Lillian wouldn’t care if Lena cut herself or harmed herself in any way. In fact, if Lena killed herself Lillian wouldn’t care. In fact, she’s probably enjoy Lena being dead because that would mean Lillian would officially receive of the portion of Lionel’s estate that Lena was due to inherent when she turned 18. All of this was true. What really made Lena angry in that moment, wasn’t Lillian not caring if she harmed or killed herself. It was the fact that Fiona just called Lillian Lena’s mother. 

Lena started hitting the pillow harder than ever.

“She’s not my fucking mother!” Fists flying! Lena then grabbed the pillow with both hands, raised it over her head and started bringing it down on the couch again and again, this time making sounds. “UGHHHH! UGHHHHH!!!” 

Fiona was surprised and elated at all the rage that Lena had touched, and was releasing. “Yes, Lena, that’s it, let me hear it.”

Lena kept making sounds, moaning with rage. It was embarrassing. It was exhilarating. Lena decided to just fucking go for it and let out whatever sounds she had inside of her. Almost as a “fuck you” to Fiona. Fuck you Fiona! If you want to hear sounds...here are some fucking sounds! Lena was so loud she was sure that the other offices down the hallway could hear her. Deal with that Fiona! Deal with the other people in this building asking you just what the fuck you are doing with teenage girls! Lena started screaming! “Fuck you!!” She was screaming at Lillian, bringing the pillow down on the couch as if it were Lillian’s head. Screaming to make sure the people in the other offices would hear her, trying her best to freak absolutely everyone out, finally letting the world know, in sound, word and deed that Lena Luthor was absolutely bat shit crazy with rage! 

And then, suddenly, the tempest inside of her, the rage, the motion...everything settled. Calmness. Silence. Lena’s back was towards Lillian. All the anger, all the energy, it was no longer in her body. Lena’s body felt light. Free. Tingly. The impulse to laugh appeared. She was embarrassed and delighted at the same time. It was a like a magic trick had happened. For the first time in Lena’s life, the anger she felt, all the rage that had been trapped inside...where did it go?

Lena turned to face Fiona. Wondering if she was too loud. Wondering if she’d done it wrong. Wondering if she was in trouble or if she’d embarrassed herself. Fiona’s face said it all. She was beyond proud. She deeply cared for Lena and had just witnessed a major breakthrough. Years of stress looked like they’d been erased from Lena’s face. Dewy and innocent, red cheeks, a softness, a release. Lena saw that...she didn’t do anything wrong...in fact, she had...pleased...Fiona. Pleased her so so very much. 

Fiona thought she’d given Lena a new tool to release anger. She didn’t realize she’d just helped to confirm that Lena would spend the rest of her life acting out with sex, with women, with power.

“I was punching pillows I was so angry,” said Lena. Alice nodded. Just letting know she was following. Listening. All the while knowing there was so much more going on under the surface. 

That day, after Fiona taught Lena how to punch out anger through movement and sound, how to express yourself, how to feel new feelings, magical feelings of release...all of that became linked for Lena. In a very delicious way. Being bad. Being loud. Being watched. By a woman. Another woman in the room. Being physical. Moaning. Angry. Vulnerable. Making sounds. She’s also making sounds. Being told what to do. Being told what to do and being watched. Moving. Pillows. Moaning. Sounds. Grunts. Feelings. Release. 

It was such a completely new emotional experience for Lena. And best of all, when it was all over...being looked at with...well, it looked like…love. 

Being Bad. Commands. Sounds. Love.

Anger.

“One might say I’m in a perpetual state of anger,” offered Lena.

“Oh? Why is that?” asked Alice.

Lena pursed her lips a bit. “I’m a Luthor.”

Alice knew what Lena was doing. She was trying to get Alice off topic. Trying to bait Alice into hearing about her family. The most interesting family in the world. The venn diagram of wealth, brilliance and insanity. Alice didn’t take the bait. Lena clearly wanted to talk about sex so much she was avoiding the topic. Bringing up her family. Alice didn’t take the bait. Didn’t pivot to anything Luthor. Made Lena stay on topic.

“So you were angry - angry about not getting sex?” asked Alice.

Lena looked angry upon hearing this question. It was so easy to sum up. Wasn’t it? Lena WAS angry she didn’t get sex. It was almost embarrassing how simple it was for Alice to say. Lena hated feeling simple.

“Well, we’d had sex before. Several times. And I’d gotten all dressed up. So did she. Romantic dinner…” Lena was offering up every explanation in the book. “...was it wrong to expect sex?”

“I didn’t say that,” said Alice. Firm. 

“You asked if I was angry about not getting sex,” said Lena.

“And were you?” asked Alice.

Lena just sat there. Backed into a corner.

“Yes.”

Lena wondered what this admission said about her. She started talking before she could work it out in her head. (Very rare for Lena.)

“It wasn’t just about the sex. I mean, it wasn’t like she was too tired. We didn’t even go home together.”

“Oh? You didn’t go home together?”

“No.”

Alice just waited. And Lena saw Alice waiting. For details. It made Lena very frustrated. She was used to paying people to do what she wanted. From chief financial officers to assistants to chauffeurs, to scientists, marketing firms, chefs… Now this blonde woman who Lena had known for less than 30 minutes was making Lena do all the work? Lena bit down and scratched her forehead. 

“Her sister came and picked her up.”

Yes, Alice was a trained therapist. She was also an adult female. She instantly knew that if two adults get dressed up and have a romantic meal together on a Friday night...and then your date’s sister comes to take her home...that “disagreement” must have been a doozy.

Alice’s expression didn’t change. Just a flicker of compassion towards Lena, who almost told Alice what happened! Can you imagine! If Lena told Alice that Alex was FBI agent who her mother probably poisoned whose sister is mostly likely National City’s favorite…

Alice saw Lena chuckle to herself. She was obviously thinking of something really rich and was choosing to not share it.

Share that Kara is Supergirl? Share that her paramour talks about time travel? NO. Lena wasn’t going to share any of that with Alice. Forget it. Dismissed. For a moment, Lena calculated the ways she could use her money to ruin Alice. If Alice ever betrayed Lena’s trust. It was an option.

Alice saw Lena dig in her heels, emotionally. The last time this happened...oh, about ten minutes ago...Alice thought Lena was going to walk out of the session.

Lena saw Alice’s expression change. Just a bit. A flash. Of fear. 

Lena liked that. She didn’t mind people being afraid of her. It made her feel powerful. And power made Lena feel safe. And safety is the most vitally important feeling a human can have, as safety is the base from which all other feelings can grow. Lena was sensing (correctly) that Alice was afraid of losing Lena. This made Lena feel wanted. That was an important feeling for Lena, also. She felt safe. She felt wanted. Lena decided to continue sharing.

“Yes. Her sister came and they left together,” said Lena. “So I felt pretty fucking rejected. By both of them.” 

Alice nodded, drinking it all in. Lena was dropping bombs. 

“So it wasn’t like I was angry just because I didn’t get the sex I was expecting,” continued Lena, adjusting herself on the couch. Alice nodded again, the expression in her face changing, her eyes coaxing Lena to continue, letting her know that clearly something...secret...and sexual...still waiting to be revealed.

Lena thought about what happened next. Wanting to call Alex, wanting to start a fight, wanting an apology, wanting to ask her to come over, wanting to break up with her, wanting her to confess to whatever it was that was going on. Lena staring at her phone, about to press the call button, stopping herself. Opened up a text message to Alex instead. Typing and deleting and retyping and re-deleting messages to Alex, over and over and over. Not sending a single one. Put the phone down. Not wanting Alex to know how much she craved her, how hurt she was. Lena definitely did NOT want anyone to know just how rejected she felt and yet she desperately wanted...needed!...Alex’s comfort. She refused to give herself that gift. Felt that the more powerful option was to hold it all in. What if she reached out to Alex and Alex continued to play games? Lena could at least avoid further rejection. Lena felt it was the smart move.

(For the record, Alex certainly would have taken Lena’s call. After Kara dropped Alex off at her apartment, convinced of her well being, Alex immediately drove to the DEO and starting doing a deep background check on Eddie. Alex had decided to side with future Lena instead of present Lena...knowing that...well, what did she really know? About the future? Was time travel real? Aliens were real. Portals to different dimensions were real. Considering all the top secret shit that Alex has seen over the years, believing in time travel wasn’t a stretch. Vasquez was working the overnight. She watched Alex hunker over the desktop computer, running names, cross referencing addresses, employment histories, social security numbers, the alien database, aliases, associates, rap sheets, charges, unsolved crimes with related elements...By the time it was 11am...Alex was bone tired. Printed out a file folder 2 inches thick, took it all home, and feel dead asleep on her bed. Vasquez didn’t ask one single question. But she made a mental note...that Alex Danvers was...onto something.)

So the what did Lena do? She was dressed to kill. It was still Friday night. I could go out right now, she thought. It’s only 12:30pm. But I did just send Yaron home for the night. I could call the 24 hour car service. They’ve signed NDAs. I could have a car take me to a club. The idea of fixing her hair again, leaving her house again...just to find someone to fuck...it seemed like too much effort. 

That’s when Lena realized...why not order in?

Lena started scrolling through her phone, looking for other “opportunities.” The most obvious was Roulette. Roulette would come over right now. In a heartbeat. She’d ditch whoever she was with. Put on her sexiest lingerie. Maybe with nothing else - just a mini trench and heels. Roulette’s been waiting for me to call her again. it’s been, what...two years? Three? She’d let me do absolutely anything I wanted. Lena started getting aroused at the thought of dominating Roulette. It was pretty fun the last time. Roulette didn’t know how to say no. To anything. That’s why she keeps getting arrested. Thank God she has the connections she does. Roulette wouldn’t survive in jail. Without her eyeliner, her lipliner. Roulette’s extreme willingness...it made things...a bit boring. I mean, the first time was truly amazing. The second time? Without getting something new...well...it just made things boring. 

Plus, worst of all, it takes about 8 months to shake her. Lena remembered the last time. And the time before that. Whenever Lena fucks Roulette, Roulette just keeps calling and texting for months and months and months. It’s annoying. She simply doesn’t know the meaning of no strings attached. Roulette is a like a rope. All strings. All wound up. Roulette is all ties.

Lena kept scrolling down. Saw The Scavenger’s name and number. Oh, he’d certainly know how to help. Would probably deliver two of National City’s finest whores direct to Lena’s door. Lena raised an eyebrow at the possibilities…Kept scrolling…

Until she saw the name Therese Shahar. A flood of memories. The conference in Singapore. 

Lena was just there for they day, to speak on a panel then head back to the states. They called Lena’s cell phone from the airport. Her jet needed a repair. Wasn’t cleared for take off until it was handled. The part needed to be flown in. Two days to manufacture and deliver. Lena decided it was the perfect time to play a little hooky.

Lena and Jess checked into the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It had recently opened and Lena wanted to lounge in it’s pool. An infinity pool. On the 57th floor. Overlooking the skyline. She was out of fresh clothes. Luckily, a high end mall was attached to the hotel, via an underground passage. Chanel, Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Hermes, Louis Vuitton...Lena was in and out of the shops in under an hour with several large bags in two. Jess with her as a trusty companion, stylist, aide. Lena gave Jess a two thousand dollar bonus to be used however she wished. Jess wasn’t sure whether to save it or blow it. Swept up in the thrall of Lena enjoying herself, swishing along from shoppe to shoppe, Lena's expert eye automatically selecting items that looked sensational on her...Jess wanted in on the fun.

Lena’s black Amex card being swiped within an inch of it’s life. Forty thousand dollars in under 45 minutes. Five bags. Singapore is hot. The clothes were light and sheer. Two bathing suits. Undergarments. Some shells, pants, a skirt, a dress, jewelry to match, sandals, mules and a pair of heels. Jess wanted in on the fun and after much hemming and hawing, was about to choose a 2k leather purse then decided against it. (Lena covertly told the sales clerk to ring it up and have it delivered to Jess's room that night.) Lena was feeling positively festive. Having your jet be grounded in Singapore for two days waiting for a part is the billionaire version of a snow day. Jess had never seen Lena so giddy. Back at the hotel, the leather purse wrapped and waiting for her in her room, a surprise gift from her boss Lena Luthor...Jess decided to return the favor. Cancelled all of Lena’s meetings for the next two days. No phone calls . No Skype sessions. Routed all emails back to their relevant departments and played hardball with two very perisitent and powerful board members. Lena Luthor was not available. Jess sensed Lena needed some fun. Some r and r. And so that's exactly what Jess delivered. Not letting Lena know any of the behind the scenes machinations needed to make it happen.

Jess printed up maps of the city, created an agenda for Lena, circling museums, restaurants and other areas of interest Lena might wish to explore. Slid the sheets under the adjoining door that connected their rooms. (Lena’s room being the far, far larger one with the dining area and living room and master bedroom and bath. Jess staying in an extra adjoining room with a privacy door.)

Lena woke to find the sheet. Showered, dressed and immediately set out for a day of adventure. Taking an early morning stroll through the Gardens by the Bay, then a river cruise chock full of history and local sights of historical import and mystic origins. She was hungry, however, decided to put off lunch just a bit longer as the Asian Civilizations Museum was calling to her. Lena was always hungry to explore and learn. There was a docent tour starting just as Lena arrived. Lena joined the group. The docent was a beautiful Malay woman named Therese Sharar. 

Therese was shy yet articulate. Well dressed, demure, alluring. Beautiful skin tone, delicate hands. Intelligent and with more flair and charisma than Lena was expecting. Her docent skills were honed. As she led the tour, through ancient sculptures and statuary, Therese drawing in visitors with artfully posed questions, asking them to observe certain items, inviting them to guess as to what this or that might mean, giving clues, revealing answers at just the right time. Delivering culture and history in bite sized pieces, so that anyone at any education level would leave appreciating Singapore and it's Asian culture and history - which helped created one of the world's largest and busiest ports. Lena hung back. Could sense Terese knew who she was. Could see Therese sneaking peeks at her. Trying to include her. Trying to not pay over attention to her. Terese would ignore Lena. Then suddenly making sure Lena hadn’t strayed. Lena was enjoying this little game very very much. Sometimes the fame game was fun. Somehow Therese and Lena were playing a game of hide and go seek, right in front of everyone...and no one was noticing except the two women.

At the end of the tour, Lena waited until the tour group dispersed, then strolled up to Therese, who seemed to be lingering as well. Lena expressed her appreciation. Asked a few additional questions about living in Singapore. It was a police state, after all. With severe punishments for even minor infractions. Like spitting out gum on the street. There wasn't one piece of garbage on the ground anywhere. Not. One. Not one bit of graffiti. Not even a sticker on a wall or a sign. Lena was most curious about what life was like under such strict rules. 

Therese gave Lena the 411. Conspiratorial. Insider scoop. Therese was Malay but had lived all over the world. Moved to Singapore just 8 months ago from Paris. Just for a year. Her wife had gotten a contracting job, building tech solutions. Lena noted the word 'wife'. So she's in a same sex relationship. Married. Lena made a mental note. Therese seemed to relax. They were officially on the same page. Her shift had just ended. They decided to have lunch together. 

Lunch was at the city’s finest food court. Strolled to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, replete with golds and reds splendor and opulence, then to a nearby an alley, a bazaar of sorts, with stalls filled with trinkets and other handmade items...both of them talking and talking, Lena peppering Therese with questions...about the city, about being an expat...Therese thrilled for new companionship. Although the people were friendly, the city clean and safe and full of culture...Therese had not made many friends. And her wife’s job was demanding. She often worked late, 6 days, 7 days in a row. Their company was hoping to end the contract early, the employees would be paid the same whether it took 52 weeks or 40. Working overtime and weekends hoping to earn full pay and a extra month off. Therese was lonely and so was beyond animated to be sharing and talking and walking with Lena, who for some reason didn’t seem like the Billionaire wunderkind she'd read about. She didn't even seem like a Luthor. Lena just seemed like a regular girl...a nerd almost! Who loved to learn and listen and really, really, really wanted to find some ice cream. 

They found some, rested their feet from a long day of walking. It was...starting to feel like a first date. Both of them sitting and licking the sweet cream. Conversation had lulled. Sitting in silence. An unspoken attraction had formed and was now apparent to both. Neither knew what to say. And as the air was heavy with an impending mutual confession of attraction...Therese’s wife called.

Lena watched as Therese tried to play it cool. Didn't mention who she was with. Was clearly disappointed the moment had been lost and then suddenly excited and not telling her wife why. Therese was now being the cool customer. Told Lena her wife wouldn’t be coming home tonight. She was due to return from a day trip to Bangkok with her team, however, the company they'd visited insisted on taking them out to dinner and it was turning into an overnight. Lena said something along the lines of...'so does this mean I don’t have to eat dinner all alone?' Therese’s heart raced and she tried not to show it. They ate at the Raffles Hotel. Beautiful colonial style architecture, white columns, airy walkways, lush trees and gardens throughout. They talked and ate all night long. The atmosphere turning ever more romantic with each course. Therese wondering whether Lena had brought her to the hotel with designs to take her back to her room. Therese even more curious if she would join her. Wondering if her wife would be upset. Certainly, a night with Lena Luthor in one of the world’s most luxury hotels - this was the stuff lesbian dreams were made of! No wife in the world would get, could get, mad at anyone seizing such a once in a lifetime opportunity. Therese kept waffling, internally. Maybe Lena wasn't even interested. She's trapped in this city. And I'm just...me. Lena was exotic. Infamous. And yet just a girl, a girl needing company and companionship, deeply interested in others. Normal. In every way. Except for the fact Lena Luthor isn't normal in any way at all. Therese kept shifting. From being present and enjoying herself, to double and triple thinking things. Hoping. Then doubting.

The check arrived. It was 1am. They sipped their waters. Both lingering. Both not wanting the night to end. Therese started to think it was too late to join Lena. Lena would have made a move by now, certainly, if she’d wanted to…

“I should be getting back to my hotel…” said Lena.

“This isn’t your hotel?”

“No, I’m at the Marina Bay Sands.” So Lena hadn’t taken Terese to Raffles to bed her. Therese felt relieved and disappointed and flattered all at once. Lena had been enjoying her company. Truly. While they waited for Lena's credit card to be brought back, they discussed the extraordinary pool. Therese had been dying to try it out. Lena insisted.

The next thing they knew, it was 2am and they were the only swimmers on the 57th floor roof deck. Both wearing one of Lena's newly purchased bathing suits. Therese in a white, string bikini. Lena wearing a color blocked, green and black, scoop back halter top with a gold, peek-a-boo ring connecting the bra portion to the high rise bottoms. Therese followed Lena into the pool. They waded out to the infinity edge, looked over the vast panorama of city lights. Palm trees wafting around them. The black night sky. Romantic lights. Barely clothed. Bodies touching as the pool water lapped around them and pushed them together with it’s gently sway. They should have kissed. The energy was there. The moment. The desire. The place. Their bodies ultra charged. Each time their skin brushed against each other, they knew what it meant, what it was doing to each other.

Without saying a word, Lena turned her back to the city lights. Faced Therese. Gave her a look that indicated absolutely everything. Her eyes said 'follow me.' Lena swam away. Exited the pool. Therese followed. Lena was walking to the opposite side of the roof deck. Overlooking the harbor. Thousands of ships dotting the ocean’s surface. Lena approached one of the hot tubs, tucked away. Private. Surrounded by columns and trees and the darkness of night. Lena slipped in and waited for Therese, who was just steps behind. She also entered the tub, which looked like it was swallowing her into it’s heat and bubbles. Therese was nervous. They sat and looked at each other. They'd been looking at each other all day. Now they weren't talking. Just staring as the pool warmed their bodies, until neither had any choice but to completely relax. 

As the warm jets pounded them both...all over...Lena gave Therese a hard, lustful stare. Therese felt a shiver up her whole body. Lena’s foot started caressing it's way up Therese’s leg. Under the water, where the pool security guard could not see. In fact, he was twenty paces away. Trained to give guests maximum privacy. So it had begun. She did want me. She does want me. Lena used her foot to gently push open Therese’s legs. Lena made sure to not look at Therese’s wedding ring. Knew it was there, though. Also knew Therese couldn’t resist. Literally. Her legs were opening at Lena’s beckoning. Lena liked this very much. She looked at Therese with a lustful smirk as Lena began using her foot to stroke up and down Therese’s crotch. Therese couldn’t help it - her mouth dropped open and her eyes fluttered closed as light moans escaped her lips. Lena kept idly stroking, up and down, slowly stroking and noticing Therese's hips starting to sway a bit. Wanting more friction. Lena knew it was time. She waded forward. And as she did, it was as if Therese’s eyes closed shut and as her hips opened, giving Lena full access. Lena's hands went under the water. Pulled the bikini bottoms forward and to the side, gaining access to Therese’s slit, her clit, exposing them both to the hot water from the jets, shifting Therese so the jet stream from across the tub was now pulsing water towards Therese's center, causing them to pulse in time. Therese started breathing heavy. Lena looked around, wondered if there were security cameras. Put Therese’s bikini back in place. Therese opened her eyes. Wondering why she wasn’t feeling Lena’s fingers. Confusion on her face. 'Come with me,' said Lena, taking Therese’s hand and leading her out of the tub...

“I called a friend,” said Lena. Cagey as ever.

“Who?” asked Alice.

“A woman I met while on vacation a while back. A married woman.”

Lena and Therese each donned their fluffy hotel robes and flip flops and left the rooftop pool and took the elevator down to Lena’s room. As soon as were inside, Lena locked the door and pressed Therese against it. Didn't kiss her. Got a better idea. Pulled her into the room by the tie around her robe. Took the robe off Therese. Therese reached for Lena's robe, hesitant. Lena helped. Soon they were both in their bathing suits. Lena reaching for Therese without asking for permission. Undid each string of the bikini. First the knot on the left shoulder, causing the fabric over the left breast to fall down. Her tit just hanging out, the cool air of the room instantly hardening it. Therese shivered as Lena's hands went for the knot on her right shoulder. It came undone. Another nipple exposed. Lena gave them a good stare, small and dark the size of quarters with pea sized nubs. Lena undid the final knot in between the breasts. The bikini top flopped down, exposing both of Therese’s small raisin shaped tits. Lena licked her lips. Undid the final knot in between the breasts. The top fell to the floor. Therese was being undressed by Lena Luthor. Watching what was happening to her was like a dream. Lena’s eyelashes, wet and thick, her hair slicked back, her lips wet and pillowy, her skin flushed with the heat from the hot tub...and the heat from taking whatever she wanted - including a married woman. 

Lena’s hands drifted down to the strings on either side of Therese’s hips. Lena pulled on each, pulling it far far away from Therese’s body. Showing Therese what was happening. That she was being unclothed and there was no stopping it. The bikini bottom fell to the floor. Therese was standing there naked. Unwrapped completely. Pussy and tits out. Lena looked at her, head to toe. Smiled, then walked away...walking deeper into the room, the lair. Therese followed like some sort of sex slave, naked, following her masters every command, just with a look.

Lena arrived at the bed. Got on top. Kneeled. Faced Therese.

“Undress me,” Lena commanded. Therese dutifully complied. She crawled onto the bed, and like a handmaiden, like a slutty servant to a lusty queen, used her delicate fingers to do exactly what she was told. Getting right up against Lena, facing her, reaching her arms around Lena’s neck, and delicately undoing the knot behind Lena’s halter top. Lena hands started on Therese’s body like she owned it. Running them up and down Therese’s chest, pinching and flicking her nipples, running her hands along Therese’s sides, enjoying the hitch in Therese’s breath, the gasps, how much longer it was taking Therese to fulfill her simple task of undressing Lena. Finally, Lena’s halter fell, and Therese started pushing the bathing suit down past Lena’s ample breasts, pushing it down to Lena’s waist. Lena was twisting and rolling Therese’s nipples non-stop at this point, and Therese was in such a state of pleasure it was almost knocking her out cold, her head falling down to Lena’s shoulder, almost collapsing on Lena like a rag doll. I’ve got to be a little kinder to these mere mortals, thought Lena as she gently pulled Therese’s head back up. ‘You’re not falling asleep on me, are you?’ Therese nodded no as Lena kept stroking her up and down. 

‘Lay back,’ said Lena. Therese assumed she meant on the pillows. Therese started moving towards the front of the bed when Lena forcefully stopped her and pushed her down on her back, her head landing near the foot of the bed. Clearly that wasn’t what Lena meant. Clearly, Lena would manipulate Therese’s body in whatever way she saw fit. Therese didn’t know how much she loved being treated like this until right now. Her wife was sweet, their sex was hot, however, Therese was always the leader and it was...nice...to be controlled. Something inside Therese felt like crying out...finally. 

Lena shimmied out of her bathing suit, pushing it past her hips, down past her legs, making Therese watch from her prone position.

Therese couldn’t believe her eyes. The woman from the magazines. Naked. In front of me. The world’s sexiest unconfirmed lesbian stalking her, crawling across the bed, crawling towards her, crawling over her. Lena Luthor was naked, over Therese. Lena's breasts inches from Therese's face. Lena's nipples hard and needing to be sucked on. ‘I want to play master and servant. Do you?’ Therese nodded. She’d never wanted anything more in her whole life. Lena placed Therese’s hands on her thighs, moved them up and down, forcing Therese to caress Lena at the exact speed and pressure she wanted...Lena then straddled Therese’s face. Her pussy inches from Therese’s mouth. ‘You’re my slave. And I want you...I command you...to worship every single inch of my body.’ Therese raised her head so she could finally taste Lena’s slit. Lena pushed Therese’s head again, roughly, back on the bed. ‘That's not what I said...I said...I want you to worship...every...single...inch.’ Lena gave Therese a look that was both tender and hard. 'Have I made myself clear?' Therese realized Lena wasn’t talking sexy. She was being absolutely literal. Therese knew her job was to lick, caress, and kiss every single inch of flesh on Lena Luthor’s body. Therese nodded yes.

Lena leaned back. She'd put her pussy in Therese's face as a show of power...and showing Therese what the ‘prize’ would be for doing her slave duties. Lena laid herself against the headboard, and Therese slipped effortlessly into the role of a right proper slave. Starting with Lena’s feet. Holding them. Caressing them. Kissing every inch with delicate baby kisses. Making sure to look up at Lena, her master, making sure her master could see in her eyes what a pleasure it was to slave for her. Feet, ankles, legs, thighs...making sure to not even touch that pussy, knowing it was the reward for later...kissing hands, fingers, massaging them, taking them in her mouth and sucking on each one, looking at Lena as she did so, then sucking two at a time, gently biting the pads of Lena’s fingers...Therese was doing things she’d never done before...somehow Lena’s presence just pulled out of Therese an erotic creativity...Therese suddenly wanting to do things she's never thought of before, her mouth and hands acting on such primal and slutty instincts Therese had no idea where they came from and was powerless to resist them, as they were coming from her own deepest needs and desires.

Therese rolled Lena over onto her back, scratching and stroking up and down Lena’s spine. Massaging her ass, the backs of her legs, tending to Lena's feet again, then taking what seemed an eternity as Therese kissed every inch of Lena’s flesh on her way back up, all the way up to Lena’s shoulders. Therese straddling Lena as she gave her shoulders a deep massage, then her hands gathering up Lena's hair, scratching and massaging Lena’s scalp. Therese was so thoroughly aroused with such complete and unfettered access to Lena's body...her hands and mouth rewarded with so much flesh to touch and taste, slaving for someone, lost in her work of touching and tasting and kissing...Therese's clit was aching. Her pussy dripping. Her legs and knees weak with desire, it was hard to hold herself aloft during this massage, instead of continuing to straddle Lena, Therese finally just sat her sloppy crotch down on Lena’s back. Lena felt the wet pussy on her and moaned at how sexy it felt. Therese didn’t need to be told twice. Started using Lena’s back like a slip and slide, pressing and rubbing her juicy pussy all over it, massaging Lena's back in an entirely new way as her hands continued to work Lena's scalp. This was turning them both on so much, her slave was desperate for friction and was clearly breaking the rules, sliding her wet pussy all up and down her Master's back for self pleasure. It was so hot that Lena let work herself up, let her slave spend a few minutes working her wet clit against Lena’s back. Therese had never felt so craven and free. It was hot as fuck. Her eyes were nearly pooling with tears at the intensity. Finally, Lena shifted. Therese let Lena turn around. Now facing up underneath her slave. 

‘You’ve done very good slave. Now it’s time to suck me off.’ Therese was positively loving being told what to do. She was lost in the moment, and didn’t have to think. All she had to do was let her body feel and fuck. The freedom of pleasing Lena Luthor was intoxicating. Time had no meaning. Therese was all instinct and pleasure. She looked into Lena's eyes. Wanting to obey. And yet...wanting that kiss they didn't get at the ice cream stand. Wanting that kiss they didn't get at the pools edge looking over the city lights. 

‘Master...may I kiss you?’ Lena was touched. Therese needed connection, intimacy and reward. Too bad she’s the slave and I’m the master, thought Lena. ‘You may kiss my pussy,’ said Lena. A bit harsher this time. Just being forced to eat pussy without getting what she'd asked for sent a shot of arousal right to Therese’s center. Somehow being refused only made things even more erotic and intense. Therese was now chasing that feeling. The more she did what Lena said, the more she obeyed, the more she was turned on. She felt her pussy pulsing at each command. Therese had never been this turned on in her life. Her pussy was soaking wet, heaving, desperate to be filled and nothing in the near future was indicating that was going to happen any time soon, which made it ache even more. Therese started making her way down Lena’s body. Kissing and sucking on both of Lena’s nipples, looking at Lena as she did so, nodding at Lena, with eyes that said, ‘yes Master’ as she sucked. Back to being the dutiful slave.

Kissing down Lena’s belly, sweet kisses on Lena’s thighs, kissing and licking and then tasting Lena’s cunt so sweetly, taking each of Lena's lower lip in her mouth and sucking on them, followed with gentle licks along her slit, gentle kisses on her clit, light tongue circles over it, dipping her tongue in Lena’s arousal then back up to swirling it on top of Lena’s clit, eventually swallowing it like a pearl, gently sucking it, then harder and harder, fingers finding Lena’s entrance, teasing her, filling her, fucking her. Lena spread her legs open. Arched her hips up. Therese removed her fingers, placed both hands under Lena’s ass and started tongue fucking her, pushing Lena’s ass up, her tongue entering even deeper with force from both directions. ‘That’s my slave, that’s my sweet slave,' said Lena. Therese barely hearing the praise, lost in her rhythm, lost in Lena's taste, lost in Lena's sounds. Lena was getting a bit louder. Somehow even Lena's moans sounded like commands, like directives. Therese couldn't take it anymore, she took one of her hands and lowered it to her own crotch, sloppily trying to finger her own clit while fucking and eating Lena's pussy. Lena saw Therese trying to get herself off. Lena didn’t mind. She was feeling lazy and certainly wasn’t in the mood to “return the favor” in a similarly epic format. 'That's it...finger your clit,' said Lena. Therese groaned, she'd been bad and her Master had seen and now her Master was telling her to keep fingering her clit, her Master Lena Luthor telling, Therese naked and slaving away in a strange hotel room, married and yet naked and having been turned into an absolute fuck slave with an insatiable clit...Therese started making sounds that even Lena had never heard before, sounds of unknown and unquenchable thirst, for sexual climax and ultimate abandon.

Therese's sounds, painfully pleading with her own body, whining and mewling while fingering herself to climax while lapping and eating Lena's pussy. The sight and sounds of watching her slave attempt to “covertly” finger her clit while pleasing her master and following every single command...it was very very hot. Lena grabbed Therese’s face and pushed it into her pussy, grinding against her, watching as Therese’s hand kept furiously working her own clit. 'Keep fingering yourself,' commanded Lena. 'Finger that clit for me.'

Therese groaned. Keening as Lena's voice sent sensations deep into both of their clits, both hard and erect, being fingered and sucked...and orgasming at the exact same time. Therese moaning and climaxing and shuddering directly onto Lena's pussy. Lena used the moaning mouth and lips to bring out wave after wave of orgasm out of her own clit.

“You called your married friend?” asked Alice. Not having a single clue what Lena was remembering.

“Yes,” Lena. Didn't say another word.

“What did you two talk about?” asked Alice.

“We had phone sex,” said Lena. Saying it like it was no big deal. Something that adults did. To pass the time. For relaxation and fun. For release. And frankly, after getting ditched by Alex, it was no surprise Lena was in the mood for some adult recreation.

Alice nodded. Waited. Lena didn't know what else to say.

“Go on,” said Alice.

“What do you want to know?” said Lena trying to mask her tone.

You see, Lena was thinking...here it comes. Here comes the lecture on monogamy. On whether or not Alex and I are in a committed relationship. Technically we aren’t. We’ve never had that talk. Never promised exclusivity. Maybe I’ll get a lecture on monogamy. On chasing unavailable people. On how phone sex with “friends” isn’t healthy. She’s not my friend. She was a one night stand. And I’m not responsible for her choices. Maybe she’s starting to analyse how and why I - 

“Tell me about how you have phone sex.” said Alice.

Lena looked...almost shocked. It wasn’t what she was expecting out of Alice at all.

“Lena, you came here to talk about sex. So start talking about sex.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Tell me about how you have phone sex.” said Alice.

Lena looked...almost shocked. It wasn’t what she was expecting out of Alice at all.

“Lena, you came here to talk about sex. So start talking about sex.”

\---

Readers, I hate to disappoint you...and yet obviously not THAT much...because, you see, this chapter will not be Lena describing the very very hot phone sex she had. It’s coming readers. I promise. I’m here to serve you sluts. There is a diabolical plot against humanity, however, and are you that cruel, are you that sex crazed...that you would let Lillian Luthor and her newest “friend” Eddie Carmichael build an enormous time machine in order to rid the world of aliens? Take a look inside your hearts. Yes, we love Lena. Yes Lena went home from her date with Alex, angry and frustrated, hurt and abandoned. But the next morning...she woke up knowing what she had to do.

Confront her mother.

Lena was sure her mother was behind Alex’s strange behavior. Was SURE of it. Lena was doing her morning yoga - at 5:30am. Woke up the next morning on a mission. A mission to save her relationship with Alex. Lena stood in mountain pose. Standing straight up. Her hands folded together in prayer. Focused. Determined. Decided. It was Lillian.

Lena raised her hands over her head, pressed them together and leaned back. Looked at the ceiling. Wondered why on earth is Lillian meddling in my private life in the first place? Her back bent, her heart open. In the privacy, in the safety of her own home. In the safety of being alone. Her body waking up. Her blood pumping. Her muscles stretching. Clear that the only way her and Alex would have a chance was to stop Lillian’s meddling. 

Lena folded forward. Her hands landing flat on the ground by her feet. Her legs long. Deep stretch in her hamstrings. Looking through her legs at the back wall. How did Lillian even know Alex and I were seeing each other. I’d only met her a few weeks ago. And last night was the first time we’d been in public together. I wonder if Jess put my dinner with Alex on my calendar? Lena’s face turned sour. Angry.

Lena plunged her right foot all the way behind her, causing her left knee, chest and head to spring up. She suddenly looking like a panther about to pounce. Staring straight ahead, with anger and purpose. Did Lillian hack into the L Corp mainframe and access my calendar? Lena’s eyes blazed with fury. Her eyes said “OH HELLLLLLL NO.”

She pushed her left foot back to meet her right foot. Suddenly in a plank pose. Arms straight and strong. Holding up her entire body weight. Hands firmly on the ground. Eyes straight on the ground. Focused. I’ll fucking kill her, thought Lena. A thought that flashed across her brain so fast she didn’t even know it happened. So many things happening at once. Feeling personally violated. On top of that and worse - L Corp was vulnerable. To hacking. To viruses. To proprietary information being stolen. Employee records. Everything. Lena was furious at having her life’s work stolen from her. She was too fucking young to have to fight like this! Unfortunately, fight is what I must do. Again and again. Lena looked resigned...yet no less determined.

Slowly and with such purpose, she lowered her body, dragging her knees, chest and chin to the floor. She would meet Lillian at her own level. That’s what must be done. I must lower myself. To fight the snake, you must find the snake. A snake in the grass. Slithering along the ground. My own mother. Scaled and slippery. Venomous. My own mother! 

Lena closed her eyes. Remembered. Lillian. Is. Not. My. Mother.

She swept her body forward. Lifting her chest. Cobra pose. Legs pressed against the ground, arms pushing straight forward, chest lifting and rising, spreading like the cobra’s hood, body coiling upward like a snake about to strike...or perhaps charmed....or perhaps putting the viewer under it’s spell? Cobra. Elegant. Intimidating. Feared. Deadly. Lena stayed in this pose for a bit, stretching her abdomen, her thorax. Strengthening her vertebrae as she imitated the invertebrate. Oh, the irony thought Lena. She decided that this latest...thing...with Lillian...would be a good thing. I’ll transform myself and strengthen myself by changing myself. Lena looked calmer. She’d found a position, a point of view, where she was in control. She’d made a decision. 

She lifted her tailbone, raised it all the way into the air, her shoulders and head falling forward, the breath leaving her lungs. Deep exhale. Release. She was releasing everything she thought she should be, that she thought life should be. And just accepted this new set of circumstances. It’s what made her one of the most respected CEOs. A star on the rise. She knew how to accept and adapt. She’d had to. Starting with when her mother died. There was nothing, nothing, NOTHING Lena could do to bring her back. She was 4 years old and simply HAD to accept that her mother was gone. Forever. She had to adapt. Otherwise - then what? Wallow in self pity for the rest of her life? Inspire the ire of her new adoptive family? Be seen as an ungrateful burden? Then what? Be given away into the foster system? Where things would be possibly even worse?? Lena stayed in downward facing down...vulnerable. The hint of tears starting to well up in her eyes. Accepting facts wasn’t easy. That’s why so many people stay in denial. The pain of reality must be felt in order to be moved through. Even CEOs would sometimes not accept reality. Even though it would end up costing billions of dollars, thousands of jobs. Kodak could have gone digital. They fucking invented the technology! They invented the digital camera in 1975. In 1997 Kodak’s stock price was $94. Today it was around $2. Lena could NOT have that happen to L Corp. She could NOT bear to face a reality where the papers literally printed, announced to everyone in the most literal way possible, that she was worthless. 

Lena brought her opposite leg forward. Another lunge. Thrusting herself forward. She would adapt. She would find out what Lillian was doing, why and how. And she would stop her. And she would get stronger in the process. Lena was so firm in this. Her mental resolve so strong it was like she was willing the future towards her. No other outcome was possible. Her vision and self belief so strong and true. This was no game. This was manifesting destiny.

Opposite foot came forward. Folding Lena forward. Hands firmly on the ground. Head bowed forward, almost in supplication the forces of the Universe, to the forces of life itself. Deep exhale. Air forcing out of her lungs. Her body the vessel of her soul. Air entering and leaving it based on position, based on biology. Her spirit so much larger. Her journey on this earth even more so. 

Her arms swept open as she lifted herself up to stand again, kept sweeping her arms, over her head, like angel wings, until she was bending back again, pelvis forward, chest open, heart exposed, long neck, hands and fingers pressed together to a single point, a single point of focus, every part of her open and focused…her eyes relaxed as she looked upward. At her new trajectory, which she was somehow, as if by magic, already on...

Her arms coming forward again. Her body straightening. Standing straight. Her hands coming together. In prayer. Landing at her heart. Mountain pose. Perfect posture. Perfect vision. Perfect intention. Focused. Strong. Flexible. Decided. Restored. Renewed. Ready.

Lena did this routine every goddamn morning. You can imagine how it shaped her. Body, mind and soul. She was one bad ass mother fucker.

And mother is exactly who she was going to fuck with.

\---

She started by calling Herbert, aka Herbie, aka Herbie the Love Bug, aka Love Bug, aka Bug, aka Bugger, aka Bugger Off, the Bug Meister, Mr. Bugglesworth, aka Bug Man. 

It suited him. Because he was a computer hacker and bugs was his game. His thing. His love, his life, his profession, his passion. Lena met Herbie while she was at MIT. He was a dishwasher at Sir Isaac Chewton, a cafe deep in Cambridge, too far for students from MIT or Harvard to frequent and yet still trying to capitalize on their potential patronage anyway with it’s hackneyed name, which was the brainchild of the owners, who were always trying to drum up more business and yet refused to listen or take in anyone else’s ideas, especially the staff’s, which would have certainly enhanced the bottom line and brought in more customers and kept the ever dwindling roster of regulars. The owners kept making changes, kept trying to improve things, kept ruining things, they felt demoralized, they didn’t want to be there anymore, kept leaving the staff to run things on their own, took too many vacations, turned a blind eye, the place had a rogue feeling to it, making most of it’s money in the mornings, serving breakfast and lunch to early morning neighborhood commuters and drinks, coffee and sandwiches to the nearby office buildings and hospital...at night, however, the place was dead. Virtually empty. Only one counter employee, a cook and a dishwasher. Bare bones staff. The people that worked this shift had lawless, rogue personalities. They weren’t making much money but they loved the freedom. They loved taking over a business. Wearing whatever they wanted. Tattoo’ed to the hilt. Playing music too loud. Counter Culture at a literal counter in the middle of bonafide cultural hub. Some call it the Hub of the Universe. And in this dead, empty, dying atmosphere, where no one went, lived Lena Luthor. Text books and laptop in toe. Sitting in the corner. Ordering the soup of the day and salad. Working, working, working away. Not bothered a bit by the loud music, by the employee banter, their loud laughing and joking. Lena was a fixture there. And Herbie, as I mentioned, was the nighttime dishwasher, who served as DJ, bringing in her personal CD collection, playing music, discovering new bands, he felt positively underground. And occasionally he too would sit in the corner, the corner opposite of Lena, log into the stores wifi on his obviously very expensive portable computer, put on a backwards black baseball cap, cover his ears with noise cancelling headphones and type fast and furious. Faster than Lena ever typed. So focused. How could Lena not notice? When Herbie was on his break, typing away like this, it was like a personality transplant. The loud goofball was now a surgeon. A fighter pilot. A safe cracker. His eyes lasers at the screen. Whole dramas, wars playing on them. Lena was captivated. And just like that, a timer would go off - Herbie would realize his break was over. He’d close down whatever he was working on. Pop off his headphones, pack up his gear and suddenly he was back, back to being the chaotic good, punk rock t shirt wearing human embodiment of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. Lena was fascinated by him. She wondered if she had a crush on him. And she did. Not a sexual crush. She didn’t want him to take her to bed. She didn’t want him to romance her. But in a way, he already had. She watched him and just from him being unabashedly him, his joy, his love of life, his completely in the moment attitude and spirit of anarchy and yet obviously living in the world of rules and laws - the law of gravity, the laws of thermodynamics, the laws of man, working a job, taking his breaks on time as scheduled, getting off break as soon as the timer told him to...he was a mass of contradictions. He was constrained and yet free. He was poor and yet richer than Lena had ever been. He had thoroughly romanced Lena without knowing it. He was like a bastard prince, having escaped the kingdom and living free in the forest. Lena felt like a captive in a tower at times. And when she was near Herbie, she was reminded that at any point she could leave this life of hers and do something different. Something simpler. Herbie reminded her of choices and that was enough to make her so grateful for him. 

Of course Herbie knew none of this. Lena Luthor was just Lena to him. He didn’t know she was famous. He didn’t read newspapers or magazines. All he knew was that she was fucking gorgeous and wayyyyy out of his league and yet he was the lucky one who got to work in the cafe that she spent 3-4 nights per week in. He felt so lucky being the guy she ate dinners with. He never told anyone this. He never told a soul that he pretended that Lena and him owned the cafe, that she was his wife and he loved letting her read while he tended to everything at their cafe. He would have done anything for her, he would have loved her until the ends of the earth, if they were together. 

It was about 8 months into her tenure there, 8 months of her showing up and then showing up again, it was less than two weeks that she was accepted as a fixture there at nights. They knew her order. Just how to bring her water (bar glass, no ice, wedge of lemon, straw), how to serve her soup (bowl, not too full, no crackers and never anything creamed.) Her salad (they dusted it with sesame seeds - special for Lena) they loved having her working away in the corner. The most beautiful girl in all of Cambridge. They never bothered her with personal questions. And she barely spoke to them. Working, working, working. They all worked around each other. Chaos and Order. In perfect harmony. No one asking too much. Not making it personal. Careful to not disturb the harmony. One false move could shatter everything. Sure Herbie and the chef joked about asking her out, after the store had closed, while they were cleaning. As soon as they spoke the words, they both got a feeling, a feeling like they’d done something...against the natural order of things. As if Lena was their sister or their cousin. Someone they were supposed to protect and include, like family. Not a girl to joke about banging. They didn’t realize this until they said it and they quickly dropped the subject and never brought it up again. Plus, they both knew she would never. They could just feel it. Herbie continued his romantic feelings in secret. A secret fantasy. Where he did absolutely everything for her. 

One day, while they were cleaning up, Lena was writing her dissertation, had been writing it for months, writing and re-writing and revising and polishing and annotating and footnoting and prefacing and finally, titling, paginating and saving. It was done. She was at the cafe. It had closed and Herbie was behind the counter sweeping. Johnny Cash blasting from the speakers. A Boy Named Sue. She couldn’t believe she was done. The final keystroke happening so quickly, just a click of the ‘save’ button and years of her life had been completed. She was stunned. Her heart beating fast. Nervous. Wanting to look it over and double check but she’s already double checked it every night for a week while editing and polishing and tweaking and something inside of her just knew it was as perfect as it was ever going to get and that it was done and she was done and this was the last bit of work she would ever do at MIT which meant that her schooling was done and it was the end of an era and the beginning of the next phase of her life, which wouldn’t start right away, she still had to turn it in, have it reviewed, defend it against a panel of professors who would grill her on her findings and conclusions...she felt like celebrating and yet the feeling of limbo was so strong it felt too premature to celebrate. She was elated and rudderless and the next thing Herbie knew, Lena Luthor was at the counter talking to him, telling him everything about what she had been working on all this time and how she felt and suddenly Herbie was on the other side of the counter hugging Lena, feeling like her older brother, feeling like her favorite cousin and then Herbie so swept up in the moment, he was sharing with Lena what he’d been working on all this time, so proud of his accomplishments, so proud of what he’d been working on in the corner of the cafe on his laptop, wanting to share in the enthusiasm of Lena, sharing that he was a hacker and he’d been hacking into the Serbian government and making extra money passing along files to a shadow organization who paid Herbie on the dark web and Herbie was using those monies to buy, build and restore his dream car - a 1966 Chevrolet Camaro, black and white stripes from hood to tail. He pulled out a photograph from his back pocket and showed Lena it. Like he was a man overseas at war pulling out a pic of his best girl back home. He was so full of pride, showing Lena that he had goals and dreams and could earn money and was working towards something larger. The pic was folded and worn from living in Herbie’s back pocket, but Herbie held it and looked at it with so much love...that he was shocked to his core when he looked up and saw Lena, white as a ghost. Her eyes wide as saucers. Almost trembling.

“You hacked the Serbian government?”

Lena was terrified at even hearing this. At even standing next to a person who thought they’d done this. Certainly this dishwasher didn’t actually DO that. He just thought he did. And if he thought he was trading secrets for money, then he was being catfished in a huge and very sophisticated net, probably the United States Government. Who might swoop into this cafe at any moment to arrest him. Who would learn that he’d been working next to Lena Luthor the entire time. They would know Lena was behind all of it. Behind something so patently wrong and even worse - stupid. That Lena Luthor used a dishwasher as a hacker to hack into a fake government designed solely to arrest the criminally stupid. Lena was sick and scared, she handed the picture back to Herbie, bent herself over a trash and waited to throw up. Then she remembered that her dissertation, her purse, her laptop was in the corner, unprotected, could be stolen. Her stomach turned to steel. She straightened herself. She walked away from Herbie, didn’t say a word. Gathered her things, left a twenty on the table and never returned.

Herbie was devastated. He’d obviously upset her. He went online that night and learned every single thing about Lena. The billionaire. The daughter. The sister. Lex was in the middle of his trial. It was in all the papers and Lena managed to block it out. Both sides had agreed to take her off the witness list. It was only right. She was trying to educate herself, she was a model citizen were the arguments. The court system wasn’t designed to ruin the lives of innocents. It was to protect us all. Herbie knew all the reasons why what he said made Lena sick. He’d confessed to being a criminal. Criminals were the last thing Lena needed in her life. He waited and waited for Lena to return. She didn’t. He was devastated. He spent a few days wandering the MIT campus, hoping to run into her. No sign of her. He felt sick. He called in sick to work. His first time ever. Without his energy, the cafe felt like it’s heart had been ripped out. They closed at 3pm that day. No one could bear to have it open without the energy of Herbie filling the emptiness. 

Lena went to the cafe that night. She needed routine. She didn’t want being a Luthor to scare her from the people and places in her life. She had to fight against this impulse her whole life. Once Fiona pointed this out to her, Lena decided to return. Saw the closed sign. She knew it was she who had ruined the delicate balance. She was the one who approached the counter. She was the one who brought up her personal life. She was to blame. She felt awful. She decided to do something about it.

The garage door was open. It was dusk. Music playing. Not loud at all. Softly, in fact, making sure not to annoy the neighbors. Herbie wanted to work on his car with the garage door open, with the breeze and the changing of the light as the sun started to set. Romantic. He felt such romance when he worked. Whether on his car, or his computer…

She saw the car in the garage, glowing in the garage, which was lit up as the neighborhood started to darken, the street lights coming on. The car was dark and beautiful. The stripe powerful. Like a skunk. Whose markings allowed it to walk nonchalantly through the forest, afraid of no predator, casually strolling, its reputation known to all by its distinctive markings. Lena smiled. Wondered if Herbie was aware of this. Aware of what animal he’d chosen and why.

She strode into the garage. He was in the passenger seat cleaning something with a cloth when he saw her approaching in the rearview mirror. His heart skipped a beat. At this point, he knew she was a lesbian. The tabloids never came out and said it. Just the occasional allusion, hinting. Herbie didn’t understand why they didn’t just come out and say it. Herbie didn’t understand that those papers, those rags, were a part of by media conglomerates owned by people Lionel and Lillian played tennis with and ate crustless cucumber sandwiches with at spas and hosted charity events with and celebrated anniversaries with on remote islands. Lena’s love life was off limits because, well, no one wanted thing to feel awkward. And for the lowly writers of those rags, well, they didn’t want to lose their livelihood. Still, it was fun to sneak in the occasionally hint. A giant fuck you to their bosses. And a shout out to Lena, who in her own right was giving a giant middle finger to the world, by living life on her terms. She was a hero to many, including the press. Well, most of the press. Most of the time. Until one of them decided to make it his mission to write a think piece on her that positively dragged her through the mud - that wouldn’t happen until later. No need to dwell on it now…

Lena. In the rear view mirror. In his garage. His sacred sanctuary. His temple. And now not one goddess (the Camaro) but two (Lena) were inside. Lena was now over his shoulder. She looked down at the bright, red leather seats. The car was gorgeous. Herbie looked up. Playing it cool and failing miserably, his words and tone so even yet his eyes positively alight looking up at her. It was THE most wonderful surprise in the world ever.

“What are you doing here?” he said. Still wiping the part with the rag.

“I’m Lena Luthor. And I’m here to rescue you,” replied Lena.

“Excuse me??” said Herbie, with no small amount of surprise and delight.

“You heard me,” said Lena. Delivering the delight right back to him, with a side of extra charm.

Herbie got out of the car. Looked at Lena. Needing clarity. 

“So in this scenario, you’re Luke Skywalker and I’m Princess Leia?” he asked.

“You bet your ass,” said Lena.

She told him he was clearly on a fool’s errand. He was was being catfished by high level government spooks. She didn’t want him to get arrested. For treason. One of the most serious charges that can be brought against someone. It’s like trying to murder your own country. Herbie was fucking stoked. Now was the chance to prove to Lena his hacking skills. Impress her. Then went inside. Set up shop. Firewall after firewall, hidden isp, cloaking devices, you name it. Lena was positively shocked at the level of sophistication Herbie was coding at, hacking at. She was stunned and amazed. He was discovering problems and devising solutions nearly at the same time, often bypassing security systems within the first, second and third try. It was the Serbian government domain. Herbie was right. 

Partly.

Lena gave him direction. He took a few turns, unexpected ones, and a few minutes later, realized that Lena was right. He was being spooked. Not by the US Government but the Serbian. He’d hacked inside and they discovered it, assumed he was Serbian, assumed he was a high ranking Serb with triple top secret clearance and was working to expose him by posing as an outside group aligned with the anti-Serbian hacker’s agenda. 

Now it was Herbie who was frightened. They were getting close to exposing him. He started draining accounts. Deleting his tracks. Covering them. Spoofing them. Disappearing entirely from their sights, their grasp. They worked for hours, him coding at the keyboard, Lena brainstorming angles, him capitalizing on her ideas. It was exhilarating. It was midnight when they decided they needed a break. Needed food. They went to a 24 hour diner where Herbie ordered a hamburger and strawberry milkshake and Lena ordered, you guessed it, soup. 

She sent an email to a family friend. Calling in a favor. She’s never done that before. She hit send and hoped this friend wouldn’t mention to her parents that she’d reached out. Knew she’d hear back by morning. Didn’t tell Herbie. Instead they just ate and talked. Like two friends. Like friends that had been talking for years. Except they’d only really known each other for a few hours. 

“So tell me the kinds of girls you like?” asked Herbie. It was bold. Lena seemed like the tight lipped type. Somehow Herbie was the kind of rogue prince that got away with asking such things. Probably because he really wanted to know. Because it was fun. Because he wanted to share in kind. And not because he wanted to have something over on her.

“Well...here’s a photo of a girl I dated in high school,” said Lena, who pulled up a photo on her phone and showed it to Herbie. It was Roulette.

“Holy shit!” said Herbie. Taking in Roulette’s eyes and cheekbones and lips. “She looks like if a knife turned into a human!”

Lena laughed. Took her phone back.

“I guess you could say I like a girl with edge?” said Lena. 

“Based on that picture, I’d say edge is the ONLY thing you like,” sassed Herbie. Lena broke out into the hugest grin. Took Herbie’s shake and sipped from it. Without asking. Somehow they both knew that whatever the other person had was there for the sharing. As Lena tasted the delicious and creamy strawberry, she thought about just buying for Herbie the car he was laboring at. She could buy that car like you could buy a pack of gum. She knew the worst thing in the world you could do to someone was take away their hobby. When she was 14 she’d been working on building a homemade radio for weeks. Lionel finally noticed and the next day brought her home the most expensive one on the market. Lena put away the idea of buying Herbie a car. Or anything at all. They talked all night about girls and computers and sci fi movies and how she’s totally Luke Skywalker and he’s Princess Leia, leading the rebellion by passing secret messages through droids and they’re in love but they’re really brother and sister. When Herbie said that, they both paused. Just for a half second. It had all been coming out so fast, both of them agreeing on bits of the narrative that matched. Lena and Luke from fucked up families, trying to be good, there were so many parallels, and then suddenly Herbie saying they were in love but they were really brother and sister...it was just...the truth. They were in love. And they were more brother and sister than if they’d been born into the same family. They never discussed that dynamic between them again. They changed the subject. Bringing up more photos of girls on their phones, sharing who their childhood crushes were, doubling down on the fun. 

That morning, Lena’s family friend not only reached out. He arrived. Knocking on her door. He’d flown up from Washington D.C. as soon as he read Lena’s email. She answered the door and saw General Brunswick standing before her. They went to a secure location. An unmarked building right in the middle of town, right where everyone could see it, and yet it was a government safehouse with a secret entrance. It was swept for bugs daily and was a place where secret operations could be held. Most cities had sites like this and for major cities, they were fully staffed. Lena and the General were in the conference room. Lena sharing details, keeping Herbie’s name out of it, but telling of the situation and wanting to ensure that Herbie would not only not be prosecuted, but would be fully protected by coming forward and sharing what he’d done and learned. The General swore up and down to Lena. She believed him. Ten minutes later, government agents found Herbie skateboarding down Massachusetts Avenue and pulled him into an unmarked van and before he could fear for his life and his future, he was sitting with Lena and the General. 

Less than a month later, Herbie was hired as a top level consultant at Quantico. He’d moved down to Virginia and was working at the CIA regularly. He rented an apartment, just a mattress, no frame, a couch, a tv and a tv stand, one plate, one mug, one fork, one knife. Bare bones. He got suits that were ill fitting that he wore to work paired with thin, colorful ties and beat up chuck taylor sneakers with white socks. A hint of his neck tattoos peeked out from under his collar. The ladies loved him. And suddenly high school dropout dishwasher Herbie became Herbie the Love Bug, with a steady stream of gorgeous, ridiculously brilliant and highly educated female CIA employees and operatives to date. The men at Quantico were jealous and yet it was obvious that Herbie had the X factor. As for the women, they knew not to ask for commitment. All of them knowing they might have to go off on a secret mission at any moment. He quickly became a brilliant lover in and out of bed, thanks to Shirley Washington, with whom he had a fourth month affair with - another story for another day. She taught him many things, including the ability to love fully and completely without expectations. It was intoxicating. She was deployed to Afghanistan. And when she left, she made sure to let a few of her friends know that what they suspected about him was true. His reputation grew like wildfire. He was in heaven. Personally. Professionally. And it was all thanks to Lena, who for some reason he still secretly loved more than life itself. 

Lena finished her yoga. Took her shower. Got dressed. Called Herbie. 

“I think Lillian has hacked into L Corp.”


	8. Chapter 8

Lena headed down to the kitchen, headset plugged into her phone, chatting away with Herbie. He was already setting up a secure line of voice communication so they could talk with ultimate privacy. Pam, the weekend chef, was already in the kitchen. She’d made fresh juice, was prepping vegetables and had already laid out the big white box of pastries and donuts. She brought it every weekend even though Lena never ate any. he pastries always went home with the staff. Housekeeping. The trainer. Jess. If she needed to come over on a weekend to prep or pack Lena for a trip. Lena figured Pam bought them for the staff. That wasn’t it. Pam did it because a box of fresh pastries in this vast expanse of white lacquer... felt homey. It gave the penthouse a much needed ambiance. Made it feel like a bevy of friends might be arriving at any minute for a weekend of fun. Maybe watching Football. Or the Oscars. Of course, this never happened. Lena really didn’t have friends. And it made Pam sad. So she brought pastries every week. As if trying to manifest this outcome. For Lena. 

Lena saw Pam and put Herbie on mute. Asked Pam to make her enough food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then take the rest of the day off. Pam didn’t ask any questions. Whipped up a full hearty breakfast, at the same time poached salmon and made a salad and quinoa for lunch, prepped healthy snacks, bowls of nuts, fruit platter, cheese platter. Wrapped and labeled them all and put them in the fridge. Made two iced lattes, wrapped them, labeled them and put them in the fridge. A smoothie snack, cashew milk, dates, assorted other healthy bits, wrapped and labeled and put it it the fridge. Who knew what Lena might crave? Pam wanted her to have options. Pam was an excellent chef and unfortunately never got to “show off” her skills for Lena. Pam would have liked nothing more than for Lena to say, “Pam - I’m having a last minute dinner party for 12. Can you take care of us? I know it’s last minute.” Pam has three seven course menus planned for this very thing happening. Unfortunately, it’s been healthy salads and light dinners and being sent home early nearly every weekend. Pam was pulling out all the stops. Lena clearly wanted to be left alone. Pam overheard her calling Jess to cancel housekeeping and whatever other workers were scheduled to arrive. Lena wanted to be alone. She was almost on the patio, talking animatedly on her headset, out of earshot. Pam finished making a dinner option. Soup, veggies, strip steak. Left re-heating instructions. Wrapped, labeled, waved to Lena as she took off her apron. Lena blew her a kiss from across the room and mouthed thank you. Pam headed out the door and wondered what to do for the rest of the day. It was great to have a day off. Pam worked nearly 7 days a week. And yet, somehow wanted to stay at Lena’s. When she wasn’t cooking, she sat at the counter and read and worked on her iPad. She was working on a cookbook and she would work in the kitchen and Lena would work in the living room and it was just so very peaceful and productive that Pam felt lost as she headed down the elevator and into the city. Not wanting to go back to her apartment. Not knowing what to do.

Lena and Herbie spent the rest of the day talking over a secure channel. Him hacking hacking hacking his way into L Corp. Trying to find weaknesses. At the same time, looking for tracks of anyone that snuck their way in…

They were so focused and yet having so much fun...she was going after her own mother, after all, they felt young again. Breaking the rules. Being sneaky. Defying parents. Flouting authority. Acting with agency. Being generally rebellious mother fuckers trying to fuck over mother. They were both firing on all cylinders. Herbie especially, who owed everything to Lena, loved coming to her aid. Which he did more often than he realized. He was her best friend. And having a best friend meant the world to her. They just didn’t see or speak very often. Thousands of miles apart. Different cities, different lives, different jobs, families, agendas...still when they needed each other...they were there.

Lena was having so much fun, playing chess against her mother, that she barely thought about the night before. Barely thought about how terrible the evening ended. Barely felt any conflict about the phone sex. Barely worried about what the next interaction with Alex would be like. Who would reach out to who? What would they say? How would things get patched up? Lena knew none of these questions mattered if she couldn’t get Lillian to stop meddling. So she knew that staying away from Alex and focusing on this L Corp breach was, in fact, the best thing for them both.

Which was funny, because Alex Danvers woke up feeling very much the same thing...just for different reasons.

\---

Alex’s alarm went off at 2pm. Just a few hours of sleep. She planned it that way. Wanted to get started. Needed to find Eddie Carmichael. Needed to do what Lena asked her to do. Groggy. Pushed herself out of bed. Brushed her teeth. Yeah, Lena asked me to go to the hospital and I didn’t do that. Spit out the toothpaste. But future Lena told me to track down this lead. Future Lena begged me. Knew about the DEO. I believe in you Lena. And I believe in our future together. Got dressed. Pulled out her phone. Typed out a text and hit send. Got dressed in weekend clothes, leather jacket, gun holstered underneath, another one in her purse, badge just in case an headed out the door.

\---

Kara woke up, ate cereal. Got back to work on her star chart. It was a very labor intensive task. She worked on it happily, like a quilt. Piece by piece. A chore with seemingly no end. And yet somehow filling out and becoming more and more complete with each equation she solved, with each point placed on the graph, waves and vectors and orbits, planetary paths and rotations. Everything was coming together. 

\---

Alex pulled into the office park, which was empty. It was Saturday and her car weaved through the low buildings, one after another, nestled in a staggered pattern. Finally arrived at Carmichael Waste Management. Pulled into a space opposite the office building. Sat in her car. Waited. One minute later, an unmarked police car pulled up beside her. 

Maggie.

Maggie turned her car off. Stepped out. Started walking over. She looked good. Alex noticed. Maggie always looked cool and tough and sweet and grounded and real and loyal and tried and true and special and dependable and exciting and, and…

Alex rolled down the window. Maggie rolled up with her usual swagger. Pulled down her aviator shades.

“You rang?”

Big smile on Alex’s face. She couldn’t help it. So many special feelings came up. Came back. Maggie was once Alex’s everything. Without Maggie, Alex would have spent the rest of her life thinking she wasn’t ever going to fall in love. That she was maybe asexual. That she didn’t care about partnership or physical companionship or, or…

“Danvers?”

Alex came back to earth. There was a task at hand.

“So, since you’re a cop, I was wondering if…” Alex raised her finger and pointed across the parking lot at the empty office building. “...if breaking into that office building is illegal?”

Maggies eyes widened and flickered with a host of conflicting and yet complimentary thoughts and feelings. Alex could see that Maggie knew at once that Alex was up to something, something on her own, something not approved, something shady as hell, and yet was probably doing it for good, for the safety of others, to capture a bad guy because the lines of law and order hadn’t caught up to her hunches. It wasn’t love. Maggie had learned to trust Alex’s hunches. As a cop. As a law enforcement officer. As a public servant. In some ways, Maggie was flattered that Alex was calling her to be a part of what was obviously a very personal decision. A decision to go outside the lines to find and fight for justice. Of course, Maggie was going to be a part of it.

“Danvers, are you out of your fucking mind? Of course it’s illegal.” Alex’s eyes turned into that of a fawn, lost in the woods. Was sure that Maggie was going to help her and instead Maggie was scolding her for flaunting the law. Before Alex could respond, Maggie finished. “Good thing you have a police officer with you.” Maggie looked at the building. The glass windows and door showed clearly that no one was inside. The empty parking lot, empty save for the two women. “Did you see that? Is that someone sneaking around inside?” Turned back to Alex. “We better check it out.”

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. Maggie opened the car door and Alex let herself out. The two of them walked up to the building together and it looked exactly like the cop show you’ve been dreaming about. 

They arrived at the front door. No words needed to be exchanged. Maggie served as lookout while Alex picked the lock. The alarm went off. They let themselves inside. Not bothered a whit about the alarm. Alex walked over to the alarm box, pulled out something that looked like a cross between a key and a USB drive, popped the lid off the box, pressed the key into the circuitry, thousands of security codes were punched in and within three seconds the alarm quieted. Alex put the alarm back together. Maggie noticed a security camera in the corner, peering down at them.

“I’ll deal with big brother. You find what you’re looking for.”

Maggie sat herself at the receptionists desk, looked through the drawers, found where the passwords were written, on a business card taped to the back of the drawer, wifi, security, email, and some software program unique to the company. Maggie logged herself in. Found the security feed. Reset it to before they entered. Made it look like the feed got buggy and then died. Closed everything down. Took a photo of the passwords with her cell phone. Just in case. Carmichael Waste Management. What the fuck was Alex looking for here and why? This could be something stupid. Or something huge. Maggie photographed the front of the business card. For her own use. Should she need it. Then taped it back where she found it. 

Alex was in the back room. Rifling through a filing cabinet of employee records. Found Eddie’s file. Inactive. Photographed every page of it. Then photographed a roster of active employees. Including the owner. Returned to Maggie. They walked out. The door closed behind them. Maggie kept watch. Alex picked the lock again, in reverse, locking it. In under 6 minutes they were crossing the empty parking lot, no one the wiser about what they’d just done.

Maggie walked Alex to her car. It was awkward. In that delightful way. The spark was still there. An electricity of excitement and partnership and we will conquer the world together. They felt like home and they felt like they were embarking on an adventure together. It always felt like way with Maggie. With Lena, it always felt like...like...like they were trying to start something. Maggie felt like it had already begun. Alex felt so safe with her. Maggie had her back and Alex had Maggies. She always would. They were ride or still. Still. They both knew it. Today was the proof.

Alex looked to her feet, like they were at the end of a first date and she was shy, not knowing what would happen next, not knowing if the other person wanted the same thing, not knowing how to ask for it, hoping they’d just...do it.

That’s exactly what Maggie did.  
She put her hands under Alex’s chin. Gently lifted it up so their eyes met. 

“So, Danvers...are we going to catch some bad guys or what?”

\---

Meanwhile, Lena and Herbie had been working for hours and hours. L Corp’s mainframe had NOT been hacked. Herbie was sure of it. And it wasn’t just because he’d created all the security systems for it. He checked and double checked and triple checked every single point of vulnerability.

“Well, I guess that’s a relief,” said Lena. Who did NOT sound relieved at all.

“Lena, what’s going on?”

Lena was so sure that Lillian was hacking into L Corp. Now that she knew that NO ONE was hacking into L Corp, Lena didn’t know what was going on. She often didn’t feel this way. Lost. Unsure. Herbie gave her a moment to think. If Lillian wasn’t behind Alex’s behavior...but she MUST be...yet if she wasn’t...but if she WAS...if this WAS a game of chess against her adoptive mother....if they were battling each other, on the chessboard, moving pieces, forward, sliding across, the knight jumping two and one, leaping over the opponent pieces, king, queen, pawn, black versus white, black and white, binary, opposition, opposites, forward...reverse.

“Herbie, what if someone was hacking OUT of L Corp?”

Herbie had never heard of such a thing and yet suddenly it made more sense than anything. If someone could hack in. Someone could hack out. As a professional hacker, he felt both elated and sick to his stomach. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? A hundred different applications and tests and programs sprang to his mind. He wanted to grab a notebook and write them all down. Security systems he’d designed could be upgraded and tested in new ways. If he could hack in and then hack OUT of a system, he could enter and possibly hide his tracks in new ways…

“Bug?” asked Lena, tentatively.

Herbies fingers were typing furiously.

“On it,” he said. She could hear the tone of his voice. He was on to something. “Lena…” She could hear. He’d stopped typing. Her heart sank. “Someone in your company created a channel to…” his voice trailed off. 

Lena knew. He didn’t have to finish. She looked fucking furious and turned ice cold.

“Keep digging. I want everything. Make sure they don’t know we’re on to them.” Cool as a cucumber? More like ICE COLD. Herbie loved how boss Lena could be. 

“It will take about 45 minutes. Why don’t you get yourself something to eat?” Herbie knew this situation was disaster, possibly bigger than either of them knew. He wanted to take care of her. 

“I love that you think I can eat right now,” said Lena. She sat herself on the couch. Headset in. Staring at her laptop. They were screen sharing. She watched as Herbie typed in code, and for the next 45 minutes, neither of them said a word. Digging, digging, digging.

\---

Maggie and Alex drove back to the city. Parked Maggie’s car at the station. Drove to Eddie Carmichael’s home address. Alex still hadn’t given up any details and Maggie didn’t press for them. Maggie was also good at interrogation. Especially with humans. She knew when to let them feel comfortable and when to turn the screws. She also knew that, if you let someone feel comfortable, you still had the option to turn the screws. Once you turn the screws, however, you no longer have the option of letting them feel comfortable. She was watching Alex. Letting her remember that the foundation of their relationship wasn’t sex. It was good police work. Alex did seem to remember. 

They made small talk on the drive. They watched the same shitty tv shows and immediately were laughing and commenting on it. As if no time had passed at all. Loving how they cracked each other up. So natural and easy. Two best friends. And yet it highlighted how...wrong...it felt that they didn’t talk every day. Their banter flowed, giggling, teasing. They both saw the same things...the same little bits of human behavior and foibles...there was something so easy about seeing the world the same way as another. Easy and...rare...and special.

They pulled up to the address. An apartment building in the Grotto. A small section of town wedged in between downtown and the arts district. It was just starting to be gentrified. Two hipster coffee shops had popped up in the last six months and a higher class of graffiti was showing up. By and large, though, the Grotto was still a shit hole. A sink hole between two long standing a desireable areas. Naturally, this is where Eddie decided to make his home.

They rolled up to the building. A four story, brick walkup with a gnarly fire escape right up the face of the building. The front door was up a few steps. Iron. With a padlock!

“A padlock?” Maggie had never seen such a thing. How did the people get in and out? I mean, they could get in, but how could they get out if it was padlocked??

They walked down the adjacent alley. Found a door to the building almost all the way down. This one had a series of doorbells next to it, with presumably the names of the tenants. “Slavin.” “Canata.” “Yingling.” and at the bottom...“E.C.” 

Alex pointed to the nameplate. Okay. So they were looking for someone with the initials E.C. Apartment 301. Maggie was making mental notes the whole time. Alex rang every single button on the list. The door buzzed open. They entered.

\---

It was one word. 

“Oh.”

Lena heard it in Herbie’s voice. He’d found it.

“Okay.”

Lena let Herbie know she was ready to hear it.

“Um, do you know Sanjay Ra-”

Lena cut him off. She knew exactly who he was referring to. Sanjay Ratta. They went to MIT together. Were in the same program. She poached him from Yantis, a company that made polymers for NASA and various private companies interested in space, space travel and satellites.

“Sanjay Ratta.”

“Yeah. He created a way for his internal emails to be cc’d to an outside entity without being…” Herbie was typing again furiously. Lena felt betrayed. Naturally. And yet on some level it was all business. Corporate espionage was just something that happened. At Sunglasses Hut, you had to protect against people stealing sunglasses. Including the employees. At L Corp, you had to worry about stolen technology. Including from the employees. She had an in house security department. Among their duties were yearly employee interviews, making sure they hadn’t fallen on hard times, making sure one of their loved ones hadn’t. Cancer, bankruptcy, drug addiction...any of those thing happening to a loved one could push a normally moral person towards theft, towards criminality. Sanjay was one of the straight shooters. Upstanding. Good. Lena knew something terrible must have happened for Sanjay to be doing this. Sanjay was just...good. He radiated goodness and goodwill and good vibes. He’d even managed to charm Lillian at Lena’s graduation party. And Lillian didn’t like anyone. Least of all friends that Lena brought home. And yet Lena could remember it like yesterday, Sanjay in his tuxedo, at the Ritz Carlton, standing next to Lean, holding champagne coupes, telling Lillian little stories about Lena in the laboratory at MIT and Lillian laughing, laughing, laughing...Lena had never seen Lillian laugh that loudly or freely. She was utterly charmed. Granted, these little stories were vignettes about Lena being less than perfect. Like the one time the corner of her lab coat caught on fire and Lena waiting until she was done recording the results of the mass spectrometer to put it out...or the time that Lena fell asleep at the microscope and her friends wrote “time to wake up” using microscopic particles and replaced her film with it. 

Lena. Asleep. Lillian laughing at her. Sanjay. Provided her with all the details. 

Lillian. Sanjay.

So there WAS a Lillian connection.

“Find out where these messages are being sent.”

\---

Maggie and Alex climbed to the third floor. The door had no peep hole. They banged on it loud. Shouting NCPD! Open up! This guaranteed one of two outcomes - either the neighbors would flood the hallway or they would stay in their apartments like the three wise monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. It was the latter. No one made a fucking sound. They picked the lock. Took their guns out. Pushed the door open. Thrust their guns forward into the apartment as they made their way inside. 

It looked like a serial killers. Mess. Obsession. On the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, the windows, the notebooks. Pictures. Of wormholes. Of black holes. Of sinkholes and hurricanes. Spirals, swirls, circles, cones, helixes. Portraits of Fibonacci, Copernicus, Pythagoras. And so much math. Math in sharpie on the walls. In notebooks strewn about. On torn up pieces of paper. On the table, on the floor, in the garbage. Near the garbage. Crumpled and tossed. More baskets missed than made. 

They quickly cased the joint. No one home.

“Who is this guy?” asked Maggie. 

The apartment reeked of mystery. Of illegal activity. Of obsession and fixation and science. They’d seen similar elements in countless Science Police and DEO cases. Both of their cop instincts were on fire. The last time Maggie saw something like this, it was seven years ago. A serial killer hunting women, students, prostitutes...anyone that looked like Lana Turner. His apartment looked eerily similar to this one. Pictures. Treasures. Of past and future hunts. What this guy was hunting was anyone’s guess.

“Eddie Carmichael,” said Alex. 

There was an elaborate computer set up in the corner. He was a gamer, clearly. VR headset. Controllers. Swivel chair, desks, cords, speakers, three monitors, several large hard drives, routers, extra fans to cool it all down. Maybe they could figure out his gamer handle...that could be a way in. Ask the neighbors about him. Photograph this math, these pictures, bring them to J’onn? Alex’s mind was going a mile a minute. The only thing she was sure of: 

She’d be needing more of Maggie’s help on this. 

A LOT more. 

Alex wondered if Maggie was ready to be a part of something that was possibly something massive. She turned to Maggie. Her eyes...questioning. Maggie understood without one word being said.

“I’m already ready to arrest this guy. For illegal levels of Nerd,” said Maggie. 

Letting Alex know. She was all in.

“Thanks, Maggie,” said Alex. 

And with that they knew. They knew they were back. The dynamic duo. The ride or die cops. A team. The most dedicated law enforcement officer in all the city. Without their teamwork, National City would have been in countless disasters. Alex felt a wave of relief and support flood over her. Maggie and her were back on the road to being friends again. Maybe best friends. Even though the apartment was terrifying. Eddie Carmichael a mystery. His obsession even more so. This was clearly the lead that needed to be followed. And with Maggie by her side helping, Alex felt confident they would crack the case using excellent instincts and police work. Combined, they were unstoppable.

“Ahem.”

Maggie and Alex staring at each other. In the apartment. Illegally. And now busted. Being here. Together. A fucking shiver ran up each other their spines as they heard the voice. Standing in the doorway. Making it’s presence known. Making them aware they’d been caught. Red handed. And that they would be needing to explain themselves. Right. Fucking. Now.

They knew exactly who is was. They both looked towards the door at the same time.

It was Lena Luthor.

You could have heard a pin drop.


	9. Chapter 9

Lena’s face didn’t change expression. She looked gorgeous and disappointed and extremely fucking over it. I mean, just last night, Alex had ditched her for Kara. And now this afternoon she was with her ex girlfriend? The same ex girlfriend who stormed into Lena’s office at L Corp, handcuffed her and took her to jail? The same jail Lillian broke her out of? Trying to set her on a trajectory of Luthor-related criminal activity? They were BOTH here before her? Hours after learning about a second betrayal? Her own employee secretly forwarded company secrets?? To this very address? 

Maggie and Alex just stood there like two deer in headlights. Maggie thinking “well, this isn’t my girlfriend, this isn’t my mission, this isn’t my place to speak.” And Alex thinking “fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.” In other words, she didn’t have one freaking clue what to say or do. She just stood here. Mouth sealed shut. Eyes bulging out. Lena’s eyes darted back and forth between them. Waiting for an explanation. None came. 

Just in case you were wondering, Lena was wearing stilettos, pencil skirt, bright blue coat. She was looking fierce as fuck. Her plan was, if she was going to run into these cyber criminals, she wanted them to know she was ready to play ball. As a CEO. As a billionaire. As one of the world’s most powerful scientists. She’d pay them. To turn. To reveal. To give up and give over and give in. Lena would buy them. And part of the purchase would be everything she needed to put her mother in jail for several years. In order to do this, she needed to show up looking like LENA LUTHOR. And she did.

Eventually Maggie started looking between Lena and Alex. Maggie saw Alex was beyond fucking useless. Lena also saw this. And then Maggie and Lena locked eyes. And it was like Maggie sent her a message letting her know that this was ALLLLL Alex’s idea. Lena seemed to understand the message. Maggie felt good. For about a half second. Until she realized that letting Lena know this was all Alex’s idea somehow made things even worse. Maggie looked down at her shoes. A crumpled up piece of paper with coffee stains on it was by her toe. On it was a drawing of about a thousand swirls. This guy is a real doodler, thought Maggie.

Lena stood firm in her spot. Scanned the apartment and took in all the details. Whoever uses this apartment as their base camp is a fucking psycho. A scientist. A computer nerd. A math nerd. Exactly the type who would be interested in L Corp technology. Lena was so fucking DONE. She couldn’t believe that Lillian was trying to sabotage the company that was born under the Luthor name. Was changing the name from Luthor Corp to L Corp all it took for Lillian to not care about it’s legacy anymore? Was it me owning it? Rather than Lex? Is it the new agenda? Helping the human race? As opposed to ending the alien race? I guess maybe there are lots of reasons for Lillian to feel antagonistic towards L Corp. I took it from her son. Her only child. Because Lord knows I’m not her daughter. Not her “real” daughter.

Maggie and Alex gave Lena a moment. To take it all in. And let’s be frank. They were both stunned by her beauty. Her presence. Lena radiated an otherness. Like a panther. A beautiful beast. Sleek. It’s natural movements - pure prowling. Side to side, one foot in front of another, shoulders shifting, nonchalant and purposeful. It’s pure black color, powerful eyes, telling all the other animals to beware. She’ll not only buy you and your family at a discount, she’ll also eat you alive. 

Lena took a step inside. The heels of her stilettos on the concrete. Click. Click. Sounding exactly like a gun being cocked. Lena turned and saw a sheet with equations on the kitchen counter. The math. It didn’t look like anything L Corp was working on or had ever worked on.

Lena idly reached for it. 

“Don’t touch that.” said Alex. Half bark. Half whisper. Pure command. 

A host of emotions flooded Lena. How dare Alex tell her what to do? And yet, Alex’s voice. Focused on her. Talking to her. She wasn’t sure when she was going to see Alex again. It was nice to bump into her so unexpectedly. And to make her...afraid. Yes. Under that command was fear. Lena narrowed her eyes and turned to Alex. Neither of them would have ever expected this would be how they spend the day after their first normal date. 

Alex held up her hands. She was wearing latex gloves. Maggie realized the message being conveyed. Held up her hands. She was also in latex gloves. This is the most lesbian thing I’ve ever been a part of, thought Lena. 

Then Lena understood Alex was afraid Lena might leave a print. Lena felt protected and cared for. Until she saw Maggie and then was fucking pissed all over again. Decided to push it.

“Fancy meeting you here,” said Lena.

“Get out of here, Lena,” said Alex. 

She meant it as protection. No one knew who this Eddie person was. Or who he spent time with. He could come home at any minute. Maggie and Alex were armed. They were law enforcement. They had radios on them that could call for help at a moment’s notice. Alex had a earpiece direct to Supergirl. Lena had a big blue coat. She was unarmed. A ripe target for kidnapping. Hell, Lillian even kidnapped her once! Lena’s been almost killed countless times. Thrown over the balcony, two near helicopter crashes, giant concrete L thrown at her, this list was long. Alex was right to try and get Lena to safety. 

But as soon as she said “Get out of here, Lena” even Maggie dropped her head into her hand. It was a disaster. 

Lena literally couldn’t have felt more betrayed and angry at this point. Alex, Kara, Lillian, her L Corp employees. And yet somehow, Lena dug deep and found just a bit more. And decided to spit it out at Alex like Venom. She’d been so calm, cool and collected. Too calm. Too cool. It was time to strike.

Lena took two large purposeful strides even deeper into the apartment. Asserting her agency physically. Alex was NOT the boss of her.

“Do you have a warrant? Do either of you?” said Lena. Alex and Maggie tried to keep their game faces on. The answer, however, was evident. They did not. They were here illegally. 

“I’m here because the door was open. I believe that’s legal.” Lena wagged her fingers at the two agents “This on the other hand…” Lena was making it all clear. She had their numbers. She could call in this crime and have both Maggie and Alex swimming in paperwork and possible desk duty for the next three days. I mean, sure, they’d talk their way out of it, but it would be a major inconvenience. And future Lena had made it clear that time was of the essence. Alex looked at present day Lena and tried to see into the future. It seemed so far off…

“Good to see you, Lena,” said Maggie. Trying to lighten the moment.

“Is it?” said Lena. Her words filled the room with an ice cold breeze filled. “I’m surprised you recognized me without handcuffs?” Maggie realized to shut the fuck up.

Alex walked towards Lena. Her eyes half on the door. Making sure Eddie wouldn’t be arriving unexpectedly. Maggie noticed. Drew her gun and went to the hallway to keep watch. Alex reached her hand to touch Lena’s arm to comfort her. Assure her things would be okay. 

“Don’t touch me.” Lena reeled back. Like an animals who’d been abused. It shocked Alex to the core. She’d never seen Lena so much as flinch, much less reel away, protecting herself from potential pain. Lena caught it too. Tried to adopt a face that made it seem like she was preventing Alex from touching her because she’d lost her trust. Of course that wasn’t the reason. And Lena was upset with herself for showing her true feelings. She chastised herself as Alex’s eyes searched Lena’s. Wondering how to make her way back in.

Maggie popped her head back into the door.

“Danvers. Wrap up the lovers quarrel. Get what you need and let’s GO.” 

Maggie had just acknowledged, openly and verbally, that Alex and Lena were lovers. This was the first real salve Lena had felt since last night. Alex saw a slim chance. Now was the time to strike. 

“I just need a few photographs. Then we’ll all talk?” 

Maggie’s eyebrows raised. “We” will “All” talk? Okayyyyyyyy, thought Maggie. This day keeps getting more and more interesting. Maggie turned and saw Lena. Standing like a statue. Not saying one word about Alex’s offer / plan. And dangerous...thought Maggie. I wonder if Lena would murder us both if she had the chance. Looks like we’ll be finding out soon enough!

Alex tentatively pulled out a micro camera and starting taking pics. Lena observed as Alex seemed to follow an internal checklist - how to photograph a crime scene 101. Must be her training. Pics of the room. The layout. The computers. The math. The drawings. She opened drawers and photographed the contents. Opened the fridge and the freezer - took pics of them, too. She was fast and efficient. Under a minute. 

Maggie stood watch. Standing in the doorway. Looking down the hallway. Making sure this guy didn’t come home while they snooped. Making sure no neighbors popped their heads out their doors and witnessing this crime in progress. And darting her head back into the apartment. Almost as if she was keeping an eye on Alex as much as she was the hallway. It created a feeling of urgency. Of danger. Lena felt scared. Suddenly realizing that this could all go terribly wrong in an instant. Who gets shot at more than law enforcement? Oh, me. Thought Lena.

Alex was nearly finished. Maggie checked the time on her phone.

And in that split second, without thinking, with an almost sleight of hand movement, Lena slipped a little 3x5 notebook on the kitchen counter next to her right into her coat pocket. Absolute theft. Right under the noses of two law enforcement officers!

What a sneaky little Luthor that Lena is!

She’d come here for a reason and wasn’t leaving without something. This little trinket would have to do. 

It was probably nothing. 

\---

Alex ushered them out. No one spoke as she picked the lock closed again. Like three silent assassins they floated down the hall, not making a sound, no one any the wiser to their presence. Alex in the front. Lena in the middle. Maggie pulling up the rear. Guns fore and aft. Maggie noticed that Lena’s heels didn’t make even one single click on the concrete. 

That’s fucking freaky, thought Maggie. Genuinely freaked. She’d touched Lena when she handcuffed her. Mirandized her. Rode in a squad car with her. Booked her. And yet in this moment, she didn’t seem real. She felt like a ghost. A ghost floating down the hall wearing a bright blue coat. Maggie wasn’t superstitious but this was a supremely freaky moment. Luckily by the time they got to the street, it seemed to have passed.

The light of day, the dirt of the alley, the awkwardness of Alex all seemed to bring everything to reality.

“So, um, let’s all go somewhere and talk.” 

Again! Lena! Said! Nothing!

It was a CEO trick she learned from Lionel when she was 13. He started taking her to all of his meetings. Wanted her to sit in and learn. Having a thirteen year old girl next to you while other powerful men tried to bully or cajole you...it was a great big fuck you. Power move. Lena didn’t understand this. She just thought Lionel wanted her to learn. And he did. There wasn’t one single thing that Lionel did, however, that didn’t serve more than one purpose. She often sat next to him, dwarfed in her chair, watching men yell at Lionel, ask questions to Lionel, threaten him, promise him and implore him...and Lionel just sat there in silence. No matter what the situation is...not saying anything, not reacting...taking your time...deciding whether or not to speak. THAT is the most powerful move of all.

This was proven as she watched men respond to Lionel’s statements. To his threats. To his promises. Speaking too soon, immediately responding, in anger, in elation - it was weak. Lionel spoke and it was like strings on a marionette - his words created an instant reaction in the other. They had no idea that Lionel counted the seconds in between sentences. Too short of a pause - weakness. Too long a pause - fear, uncertainty. Just the right amount meant thoughtfulness, a worthy partner. No response? A worthy opponent.

So Lena was choosing silence today. Alex didn’t understand this meant Lena and her were on opposite sides. I mean, just last night they were on the best date of their lives! Until Lena started talking about time travel and the DEO and stopping Eddie Carmichael. Alex was beyond frustrated that Lena was giving her the ice queen treatment when really Alex was doing her bidding! God, can’t a girl catch a break?

“Where?” said Maggie. 

Alex and Maggie both knew their apartments would be a terrible place to bring Lena. They would only bring up the elephant in the room. Infidelity, sexual betrayal, sexual communion, romantic histories, past and present, I mean - honestly. It wasn’t an option.

Neither was the station. I mean, please.

Neither was the DEO. I mean...PLEASE!

“L Corp?” Alex floated the idea. Hoping it would seem to be an olive branch to Lena, hoping it would seem like they were deferring to her. Trusting her. By meeting her on her turf. When in reality it was the only option.

Lena kept on her game face, didn’t want them to know that L Corp had been infiltrated. They couldn’t meet there. It might be bugged. There might be spy cameras all over the place. Too risky. 

“I’m not exactly keen on walking into my company with the woman who arrested me.” Lena was quick on her feet. It was a more than salient point. L Corp was out.

“We can meet at my apartment,” said Lena. It wasn’t a suggestion. 

Alex was thrilled Lena opened her mouth. At this point, so was Maggie. A lot of tension left the air. I mean, there was still a LOT of tension. But at least Maggie was somewhat confident that Lena wouldn’t murder them.

Lena’s town car floated down the alley. As if she’d summoned it with her mind! Maggie almost jumped out of her skin.

“What the…” said Maggie. “How…?”

Lena almost smiled. Almost. Maggie was fun. And charming. And real. Lena was starting to like her. Couldn’t show it. WOULDN’T show it.

Yaron got out of the driver’s side. Looking enormous. Puffing himself up. Full Israeli army officer mode. He knew Maggie and Alex by this point. Maggie - the piece of shit officer who arrested Lena and put her life in danger by locking her up in some half rate prison that criminals obviously busted in and out of with ease. And Alex. The woman Lena flung herself at. And the same woman who left her standing on the street alone.

Maggie thought to herself, maybe Lena won’t be murdering us because this guy is going to do it for her!

Lena and Yaron exchanged a glance. It would have been impossible for Lena to express with just her eyes what she needed in this moment, what she wanted, and yet Yaron seemed to receive it all, acting on his instincts, his psychic connection with Lena. 

He walked to the front passenger door. Opened it and gave Maggie a hard stare. Maggie got inside and Yaron closed the door. Then he opened the rear passenger door. Gave Alex a stare. Alex got inside. Then Lena and Yaron were the only ones left. What on earth was Lena doing with these two women was anyone’s guess. And none of Yaron’s business. He gave Lena a look that let her know he was so much more than her driver. And she looked back at him with gratitude. And letting him know that she was in the middle of something. Something big. Something...bad. Something so much more than a love triangle. Yaron got the message. Lena stepped inside the back, the door closed behind her.

Yaron got into the driver’s side, started backing out the alley. And as he did so, he raised the privacy partition between the front and back. Lena almost chuckled. Maggie was being shut out. Alex was being shut in. God, I love that guy, she thought.

As the privacy partition raised. Alex could see a host of reactions dance across Maggie’s face. Basically it was everything in between ‘OMG I can’t believe this’ and ‘figures….’

Meanwhile, as it raised, Alex knew it was time for a little private chat between her and Lena. 

Her and present day Lena. She needed to remind herself of that. Future Lena was the one that mattered. And she’d be here soon enough. Just gotta appease present day Lena until the future appears. 

Lena turned to Alex. Gave her a look. A look that said you’d better start explaining yourself or this entire fucking trash can fire of a relationship is going to disappear forever.

“You look good,” said Alex. 

It was perhaps the worst thing she could have said. It addressed none of the events of the past twenty four hours. None of the abandonment. None of the crazy shit. None of it! 

And yet Lena couldn’t help but smile. This silly little charm gambit, this playing dumb, was so unexpected that a smile finally cracked across Lena’s face. She didn’t realize it until now, but Alex made her laugh. Lena just felt...comfortable...around Alex. Even when she was fucking pissed at her!

Lena’s face turned sour again.

“Lena, look…” Alex was about to deliver the goods. Explain everything. And chastise Lena for starting this whole thing and not take responsibility for any of it. Her tone was pure exasperation. Lena was shocked to hear it and steeled herself for a fight. Alex noticed. Changed her tone.

“Maybe we should wait until we’re all together.” Alex turned away from Lena and looked out the window. At the passing buildings. The street signs. The fading afternoon light. 5pm in late fall was a depressing hour. The light telling everyone to wrap it up. Letting everyone know it was time to go indoors. Darkness was rapidly approaching…

Lena looked at Alex. Looked at Alex turning away from her. Looking away from her. Looking at anywhere but her. A sharp pain in Lena. She’d been enjoying turning the screws on Alex and suddenly, she turned them too far. She felt abandoned all over again. She too turned to her window. Looked out. Alex could feel it. Could feel they were turned away from each other. Right next to each other. And yet further away than ever. It felt fucking terrible.

Lena was surprised to feel Alex’s fingers, intertwining into hers. Lena allowed it. Was so glad Alex had reached out. Literally. That Alex had taken her. Claimed her. Took her place next to Lena. Letting Lena know - we are together, still, even though things are maximum fucked up right now. They didn’t look at each other. But they rode hand in hand. Clasping each other. So much being communicated through cellular contact. Pain. Relief. Confusion. Promises it will get better. So much uncertainty. Hope.

Maggie just rode in the front with Yaron. Him giving off THE most uncomfortable vibes ever. Maggie sighed and settled into it. 

\---

Yaron parked under the building and the three took the elevator up to the penthouse. It didn’t stop at any floors and Maggie realized this was one of her amenities. Then the elevator doors opened to her penthouse and stepped inside, followed Lena to the living room. 

Alex had never been there during the afternoon. The sun setting over the city skyline was absolutely breathtaking. And Maggie - who’d never stepped inside the residence of a billionaire was beyond stunned. 

“Holy fucking shit, Lena,” said Maggie. Lena had her back to the women and so she allowed herself to enjoy this moment. Lena smiled wide. Lena didn’t like being richer than...everyone...but she did enjoy being able to deliver wonder and joy to people. The penthouse was a marvel of architecture and design. Honestly, readers, I have not done it any justice at all. But I know you don’t want an entire chapter discussing proportion, expanse, lines, John Lautner inspired interiors, contemporary vs. Danish modernism and frankly the sheer SIZE of it. The Penthouse is HUGE. And multiple floors! Honestly reader, whatever you are picturing this penthouse to be...quadruple it. Are you seeing it now? Good. Now DOUBLE that. 

THAT’S Lena’s penthouse.

Lena entered the living room. Sat on the L shaped couch. In the very middle. Maggie and Alex tentatively coming even deeper inside, Maggie’s eyes darting all over. At the views. At the art. She was street wise, however, she loved art and looked at the Rothko and knew it must be an original (Maggie please - of course it is) and another giant canvas - just a deep, bright blue - the same color as Lena’s coat. Maggie figured that was something massively expensive, too. (Yes. An Yves Klein.) Plus vases and sculptures and suddenly Maggie was sitting on the most massive couch ever. Obviously custom made. 

Alex looked a bit more at home. Her head wasn’t spinning, taking in the massive wealth. Maggie instantly knew Alex had been here before. More than once. And for the very first time, Maggie felt a twinge of jealousy. Lena HAD taken her girlfriend from her. And now Alex was with a billionaire. With more wealth than Maggie could possibly wrap her mind around. She had no idea that wealth had yet to factor into Alex and Lena’s relationship. Right now all Maggie could see, feel and imagine...what it must feel like to not worry about money ever again. To have completely financial freedom. Security! For not only yourself but your entire family. Maggie’s favorite aunt got ALS - a chronic, incurable disease. Maggie sent as much money as possible that year. Canceled her gym membership and worked out at the station. Didn’t eat out as much. And of course, no nest egg savings that year. Had to make sure her aunt’s health insurance didn’t lapse. Maggie wondered what not having those types of worries might be like. She had no idea that having vast wealth only brought new problems and new worries. For example, Maggie didn’t have to make sure her kidnap and ransom insurance policy didn’t lapse. Anyway, the point is Maggie was sad and sick. For the first time since the breakup and she tried to not show it although why fucking wouldn’t I? More than anyone here I was the aggrieved party and I don’t owe anyone here anything. 

Readers - what followed was Alex preparing Maggie and Lena for the big speech. Then her giving the big speech. Then everyone reacting to the big speech. 

What was this big speech about? It was about dinner and Lena’s personality transformation and her imploring Alex to believe her about time travel and the mission with Eddie Carmichael and, and….

Reader - I simply can not tell you about how that all went down. You know how I am. Four people get into a car and I spend two hours describing it. You get the gist. I’m not going to make us all suffer through Alex’s retelling.

Although I will tell you that it was amazing. You should have seen Maggie’s face. She was following, she was following...then time travel came up and she was like “what?” and then it was clear that Alex believed it and then she was like “WHAT??” And then she realized that breaking into the waste company and the apartment and all the illegal shit they pulled all day long was in service of a god damn time travel conspiracy that exactly ONE person believed it? That one person being Alex Danvers? Who Maggie never saw as being anything less than sane and yet in this moment, that all started to change…

“Alex, you sound like an absolute lunatic,” said Maggie. Looking less than concerned about Alex’s mental health and well being and more like fucking pissed off at having been hoodwinked into this foolish adventure. A foolish adventure that somehow was all about pleasing Lena Luthor. Alex’s new girlfriend. This is fucking stupid! Thought Maggie. Maggie looked exasperated and angry and really, well and truly over it.

Finally, Lena liked Maggie. Because Maggie was clearly and unequivocally on her side. The side that time travel was utterly insane. And more than that, that Alex was wrong. And had been wrong the entire time.

They both stared down Alex. Alex kept on protesting and explaining. Getting more and more angry. Finally surpassing both of their anger. Because Alex KNEW there was a mission and the clock was ticking! Alex either needed to get them on board or leave them and start working alone! And she said as much!

And that set Lena off! Alex was on her feet. Pacing. Wondering to stay or go. Openly wondering this. Lena lept to her feet! Fucking furious that Alex was debating whether or not to leave her again. Lena was NOT going to be abandoned by the same person for the third time in under 24 hours! Lena and Alex were screaming at each other. Maggie couldn't give a single shit. She was enjoying watching them at war. Found it perfect, in fact. Was thinking it would serve them both right to have this entire thing blow up in their faces while Maggie watched. 

The fighting got to a fever pitch. Alex and Lena shouting in full voice into each other's faces!

“Why won’t you believe me!” screamed Alex. It was a soul crushing question. It was a question about absolute trust. The answer to this question was going to make or break them. If Lena couldn’t trust Alex completely, if Lena wasn’t capable of absolute trust, then there was NO way they would ever make it. Alex and Kara trusted each other completely. Alex knew how to do it. If Lena couldn't get to that level, Alex wouldn’t ever be satisfied. Lena loved playing trust games in the bedroom...but if she couldn’t get there outside of that, the relationship was null and void.

Lena understood all of this in a heartbeat. Not only was her integrity was being questioned. It was her ability. And this was Lena’s achilles heel. 

“Because time travel is impossible!” screamed Lena.

“WHY?” screamed back Alex. Her tone was almost accusing Lena of arrogance. Trying to get Lena to see that maybe there were things outside her realm of knowledge.

And the funny thing was, that Alex was more right than she realized. Because Lena did NOT believe there were things outside her realm of knowledge. Not when it came to science.

Lena screamed back her reply, quickly, without even one moment’s pause. Showing all of her cards without thinking about the consequence of looking both weak and arrogant.

“BECAUSE IF IT WAS POSSIBLE, I WOULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT ALREADY!”

And there it was. Lena Luthor. The smartest person in the room. Telling everyone there that she was the smartest person in the room.

No one spoke a word. It was arrogant. And it was true. Lena really did think this.

And maybe she was right?


	10. Chapter 10

“BECAUSE IF IT WAS POSSIBLE, I WOULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT ALREADY!”

And there it was. Lena Luthor. The smartest person in the room. Telling everyone there that she was the smartest person in the room.

No one spoke a word. It was arrogant. And it was true. Lena really did think this.

And maybe she was right?

\---

Lena and Alex were standing across from each other. Lena’s voice echoing in the air. Begging for a response and yet it wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact. I guess Lena wanted everyone to accept that fact. Mostly Alex.

Alex had never seen Lena more vulnerable, nor more assertive. She was coming out double barrelled, guns blazing, eyes blazing. On fire. A fire that had started deep in her core. A fire that had started years ago. A forest fire of the soul, where hundreds of acres burned and no amount of manpower could contain it. It would just have to run its course. Maybe for the whole of Lena’s life. She too was powerless over it. The only thing she could do was try to hide it. And now, in the heat of the moment, she pulled the curtain back a few inches and showed Alex the flames. 

It was as if Time Travel was the most important topic of her life.

And it was. 

At night, when she couldn’t sleep, she dreamed of a time machine. One that would let her go back and...fix...absolutely everything. This was mentioned in Book One. Did you forget? I didn’t.

So when Alex told her that someone else had made a time machine, this offended Lena to her very core. Not only offended her, it tore at her soul. If it were true, then Lena had been wrong, had been wasting her time, had being doing life all wrong. Her self concept was in the balance. It felt life threatening. Was she NOT the smartest woman in the room? If she wasn’t, then who was she?

Alex kept staring at Lena. Lena kept staring at Alex.

Finally, Maggie pushed herself up off the couch.

“Welp, thanks for the front row seat to the ‘bat shit crazy’ show. Unfortunately I can’t stay for act two because I have a date tonight.” She started walking to the door. “Later.” Didn’t look back.

“Maggie - wait!” Alex and Lena spoke in unison. It was eerie. The exact same words at the exact same time yet with completely different meaning. Lena wanting Maggie to stay because Alex was clearly unhinged. And Alex wanting Maggie to stay to help defeat a plot against -

Oh, you’ve heard it already.

Maggie turned to look back at them. It was a surprise for Alex to be looking at her like that. Eyes wide. Begging for help. To see Lena Luthor, wordlessly asking for help, for anyone’s help was strange and then to have it focused directly on her, on Maggie, who truly had wronged Lena, granted Lena had stolen Maggie’s girlfriend as payback...and yet Lena was so stunning and so damaged and so in need of a friend and an ally...it seemed impossible that person would be Maggie, however, it seemed wrong to just walk out on Lena. Maggie decided to give her exactly one more minute. Then that’s it. Done. Gone. Finitio.

Maggie had already made her way halfway across the room. She took one step back towards them. One final step. One final statement.

“This is just like...this is so beyond…” She was addressing both of them. They knew she was bringing up not just the time travel notion. Not just the supposed plot. She was talking about the infidelity, The Scavenger, the fucking helicopter above the stadium that Maggie had to call Alex about, all of Lena’s fucking snide looks, the fact that Maggie was blamed for arresting her when she was just doing her job… Maggie was so loyal to frankly both of them that to be called upon again to assist in something so patently absurd was just…

“This is just BEYOND,” said Maggie. Exasperated with them both. “I’m not choosing sides. Actually, I am. I’m choosing me. I have a date tonight with the woman I’ve been seeing…” Maggie turned to Alex and said this next part pointedly, “Yes, I’ve been seeing someone, thanks for asking.” She was spanking Alex. There was too much at stake for Alex to really feel it. “She’s great and we’re doing great and in fact we have dinner plans tonight.” Maggie now turned to Lena. “And so I’m going to go home and get ready for them.” Lena and Alex looked dashed. They were in the middle of a problem, an impasse. They needed help. This was not something they could work out on their own. “This has been fun. And I hope you both know that’s just a polite lie because this has been a truly awful day for me courtesy of you both. Enjoy your night.”

Lena didn’t know what to say. Alex had more training and was shouting after Maggie.

“Then why did Lena show up at that address??”

Maggie had been striding out and the question put a pause in her steps. That was a genuine mystery. How did Lena know to go there? And WHY was Lena there? Maggie’s cop instincts kicked in. These were easy enough questions to find the answers to. Lena Luthor was right there. They could just ask her.

Maggie turned and faced the women. She did want to know. And yet was in the middle of making a principled exit. Did she stay and investigate and lose her principles in doing so? Letting Alex rope her into this charade one more time? Or did she keep heading out, and stick to her guns, her gut and her principles?

“Interesting question, Danvers. Why don’t you two open a bottle of chianti and discuss?” 

Spanking and shaming both of them, was the answer. Maggie turned her back on them and was about to finally - finally! - leave the penthouse once and for all…

And when she turned, she saw none other than Eddie Carmichael. About ten paces away. Holding a gun. And pointing it straight at them.

“Has she given the speech yet?” said Eddie. 

They were all blown away someone else was there. Lives were in danger. No one moved a muscle. None of them had ever seen Eddie before. They were wondering who he was, how he got in, what the hell was he talking about...and whether or not he was going to shoot that gun.

Eddie looked every bit the part of a computer nerd. Glasses. Rumpled Khakis. Rumpled ringer t shirt. Dirty canvas sneakers. The glock he was holding, however, gleamed. It was huge. And incongruous with the man holding it. He clearly wasn’t a trained assassin. He held the gun all wrong. His arm was stretched out all the way in front of him. Alex took in all of this information. A thousand assessments were flying through her brain, looking and waiting for the exact moment she could draw her weapon...and kill.

Maggie’s hands went up, just to her shoulders, just to show him that she wasn’t about to reach for a weapon. Figured this was her best bet

Eddie kept walking with the gun towards them. Swaggering. Too much. Like he was very much feeling himself. Reveling in the role of supervillain.

“Time travel? Eddie Carmichael? Anyone?” He looked at the ladies. He was dropping bombs. Listing off all the top secret topics. Purposefully doing it to make them flinch. So their faces would reveal their knowledge. So their bodies would flinch and reveal their shock.

Except they all just stood their like stone. 

Eddie was nonplussed.

Readers, let’s discuss the meaning of that word. Nonplussed has two completely contradictory meanings. The first means surprised, confused, puzzled, perplexed, perhaps even a bit embarrassed at not knowing what to do, think or feel in a situation. This the meaning I was intending. Eddie was very much feeling himself in the role of supervillain. Showing up unexpected and armed. Facing down a DEO agent, the one who Lillian had warned him about, the one who was willing to blow herself up in order to take down Cadmus, the one who’d almost killed Lillian, the one who had certainly helped to foil all of Lillian’s previous plans to help Earth rid itself of aliens. And Lena Luthor. The “smartest woman in STEM.” Her beauty brings men and women to their knees. Her penthouse an impenetrable fortress. His instructions were to bring her back alive. Alex and anyone else could be...disposed of. None of them were brandishing weapons. He was inside. Armed. Dangerous. He was looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces. The fear. At who he was. At what he’d done. At what he was going to do. He was very much going to enjoy not two but three women showing him the respect that he’d always knew he deserved.

So when they stood there. Stone faced. Not reacting one single bit to anything he was saying. Eddie’s powerful posturing changed to confusion, disappointment. He was lost. Baffled. He’d not prepared for this at all. 

Of course, looking nonplussed in front of three powerful women, staring at you with lifeless eyes, eyes unmoved, eyes like daggers, eyes that call you as worthless intrusion...this does not feel very good at all. So Eddie decided to put on a mask. A mask that made him look…nonplussed. Not the first type. The second type. The type of nonplussed that makes you look nonchalant, unmoved, unworried, unbothered. Why this one word means two entirely different things is beyond me and I don’t understand how anyone can use it without supplying readers with a clarifying definition is beyond me. However in this case, it’s the exact right word to use, since he was embodying it, both meanings of it, shifting from one meaning to the other so seamlessly, that I’m sure you’ll agree that no other word would have done this scene justice.

Eddie was a little shaken. Pretended he wasn’t. He moved on to phase two of his plan. Annoyed that he didn’t get to play master villain. So annoyed, in fact, that he decided the best way to make them understand that he was a man of power was to show them his power.

“I’m guessing she has,” said Eddie. He was guessing correctly. They had been discussing time travel. And him. And everything. Again, none of their faces showed it.

“That means you’ve got to go,” said Eddie. And with that...he pointed his gun at Maggie and fired.

BANG!

Direct hit to the chest. 

SLOW MOTION:

Maggie’s body shuddered. Her chest. Buckled. Inward. She started to fall to the floor.

Shock. Horror. Regret. On Alex’s face. On Lena’s, too. As they watched Maggie’s descent.

Like a rag doll. Like a marionette whose strings had all been cut. Knees buckling under her. Shoulders drooping. Head bobbing to the side.

Alex reached for her weapon. Reaching around to the back of her waistband. 

Eddie. Taking satisfaction in having hit his target on the first shot. Feeling powerful.

Alex’s hand grabbing the gun, sliding it into the web of her hand as her fingers wound firmly around the grip. Pulling it out of her waistband.

Maggie legs fully giving out. Her arms, once up at her shoulders, falling softly down like streamers. 

Eddie noticing Alex’s movement. Seeing her arm start to pull the gun from behind her in attempt to aim it at him. To fire it at him. Alex was going to shoot him.

He had the advantage. His weapon was already drawn. His arm was already outstretched. His gun already facing in that direction. 

Her gun only halfway up. Her finger releasing the safety. Her other hand coming round so she could have proper grip. Training. Instinct.

Eddie moved his arm three inches to the right. Now aiming straight at Alex. 

He looked so smug. Not an ounce of remorse. Lena’s life started to flash before her eyes. 

When suddenly...

PEW. PEW. PEW. 

Three shots. From a gun with a silencer on it.

 

Eddie’s back jostled in time with each sound. Like a rag doll being poked in the back with a pencil. His smug expression changed. To surprise. To anguish. To death.

Maggie was already lying on the floor. Now it was Eddie. Falling. Falling. Falling. 

And as the life left his body, and as his body fell to the floor, it revealed who was behind it. Who had shot him. Who the silent assassin was.

It was Alex. 

FUTURE ALEX.

And next to Future Alex was Future Lena.

END SLOW MOTION.

They were both wearing DEO issued black fatigues. Alex brandishing a weapon with a silencer. Lena appeared to be unarmed. 

They’d arrived in the nick of time. To kill Eddie. And more importantly, save their own lives. 

They looked so relieved.

As for Present Day Alex and Present Day Lena…

Readers, it should go without saying that they were posItively SHOOK.


	11. Chapter 11

Alex was still drawing her gun when Eddie took three to the back and started falling to the floor. Falling down while her gun was rising. By the time Eddie was on the floor, both of Alex’s hands were clasped around her gun, her arms both straight out, her weapon pointing right where Eddie was, her deadly aim now squarely focused on...herself.

Her future self. Who had been standing directly behind Eddie. It was like pointing a gun in a far away mirror. Except the reflection wasn’t obeying the laws of physics and man. The face on the reflection relieved and satisfied, at having arrived on time, in time to kill Eddie. While the person staring into the mirror was devastated at being too late, too late to kill Eddie.

Alex holding that gun out with fire and fury and madness and deadly intentions. Her body flooded with adrenaline. Her mind scrambling. Tactical calculations, triage. Maggie was on the floor. She needed medical attention. The was an intruder, now he’s dead, now two new intruders, possibly me, possibly Lena, possibly from the future. Possibly not. Alex’s mind was racing. She’d seen J’onn shape shift. She knows it might not even be her. She’d never been trained for a time travel situation. She’d thought the DEO covered everything under the sun. Which is why Alex felt like she’d slipped into a black hole.

As for Lena… this day had gone from bad to worse. Waking up without Alex by her side. Finding out L Corp had a mole. Then finding Alex AND her ex girl friend Maggie in the apartment where the pirated data was being sent. Then an intruder in her apartment. With a gun. Shooting people. And worst of all, Alex wasn’t able to stop it. 

Remember, Alex had already broken into her apartment. Alex never told Lena how she did it and assured Lena, swore to her, that there was nothing at all to worry about. Lena trusted her. Trusted that her apartment was totally secure. And yet, there Maggie was on the floor. Bleeding. Yet still alive. Then MORE gunfire? Then a DEAD body on the floor? Yes, whoever just killed that guy saved their lives...but still. Lena couldn’t help but think - two MORE people are in my apartment? Before she even registered who these two people were, she rued the day she ever signed the lease on this supposedly fort knox-level secure penthouse and vowed to move. 

Then Eddie fell to the floor and she saw it was herself and Alex. It took a moment for her to recognize herself. She was wearing black trousers, boots, a utility belt, tight black jersey. She looked like a special ops cat burglar. So it was strange. Her eyes combed over her body, her future body, studying the only things she could - her face, her long tapered fingers, her shape. It looked like her. Physically, even more so, the emotions on her face, the relief, but not wholly relieved, a feeling of satisfaction, at having achieved an objective, then that satisfaction quickly replaced by more lists, more objectives, more anxiety, all kept under a sheen of cool calculation. Lena looked at herself and all the emotions playing out on her face and thought...that’s so me.

Alex and Lena stared at themselves. Slightly gobsmacked. Slightly confused and afraid. Slightly in awe. The surreal moment of coming face to face with yourself...it was soul shaking. Facing your fears sometimes takes a lifetime. Some people...MOST people...never even face down one. And your fears are just a small portion of yourself. So to be staring at yourself, your whole self, body, mind and soul, the unvarnished truth...it was more than just a physical encounter. Bodies vibrate at a very specific frequency, and within that frequency is all are the thoughts, feelings and experiences you’ve ever had. Being in your own presence is overwhelming. Your vibration doubled. Alex and Lena, both used to being in such control, were overcome.

Future Alex and Future Lena stepped towards their present day counterparts, and as they did so, it was like two magnets being brought together. The closer they got, the more of a vibrational barrier there was...a magnetic field surrounding them that got stronger as they grew nearer. A strong force. Repelling. Nature itself doing everything in it’s power to make sure they did not touch. Readers, the vibe in the room was freaky deaky on all levels.

Vibe. There was a “vibe” between Future Alex and Future Lena. It was obvious they’d been working as a team. Had been for a while. They were in a groove. They were in on a plan. They both looked like they’d rushed here, from a great distance, and had just made it in the knick of time. They looked like they wanted to fucking celebrate. At having pulled off the impossible. Together. The two of them. As a team. They did it!!!!! That was the vibe of Future Alex and Future Lena when they arrived. It was a vibe that didn’t last long. They saw Alex and Lena staring at them. Having a very serious case of the “what the fucks.” 

It was clear that Future Alex and Future Lena had prepared themselves for this. They both moved seamlessly onto phase two of their plan.

“Agent Danvers, STAND DOWN!” Future Alex had just barked at herself in the most commanding, serious, loud and authoritative voice she’d ever used in her life. It shocked everyone in the room. Including Present Day Alex, who instinctively lowered her gun a bit. I mean, a uniformed DEO agent had just issued an order and she was trained to obey.

Future Alex was banking on this. She knew exactly what buttons to press to get herself to obey. She knew what her own weaknesses were. Duty. Honor. Code. She knew she would fall in if she talked to herself in the same voice that they used on her when she was just a cadet in training. And it worked like a charm.

Both Lena’s were surprised. Neither Present nor Future Lena had ever received military training before and the way Alex was barking orders at herself...well...it felt like she was treating herself like a dog. Sit! Stay! Both Lena’s were a bit embarrassed for the Alex’s. Neither Lena said anything. Not to the Alex’s. Future Lena did have a few things to say to herself. Future Lena caught the eye of Present Day Lena and said two simple words.

“Jack O’Lantern.” 

Present Day Lena heard it and a cold went through her as if she was walking through a graveyard and saw her own name written on the tomb. Actually, it was weirder than that. It was as if the tomb door opened and she came out of it, alive and well, and talking, right to herself. Lena knew at once this was not a hoax. She knew it was herself. From the future, apparently. For you see, Lena had decided...a long time ago...back when she was a child...oh she must have been around ten years old...back when she was living with Lionel and Lillian and Lex…

Except Lex wasn’t there. Yes, they were brother and sister. Half. And they lived together. The Luthor residence was both of their primary address. They both had rooms there. They both lived there. Technically. Lex wasn’t at home very often. He lived at the boarding school even though it was less than a mile from the city mansion. And in the summers, well, Lex was often away then, too. Camps. Internships. The families of his friends would have Lex accompany them on trips that lasted for weeks. African safari. Tours of Greek Isles. It must have been one of the reasons they adored each other so much. They both had longed for a sibling and then to get one, and one so charismatic and brilliant...and...unavailable. It’s easy to get along with a sibling that you don’t see very often. That you don’t have to share things with. Especially your parents attention and affection. It’s easy to love what’s rarely seen. 

And this scarcity, of love, time, attention - it went both ways. Lex missed Lena terribly. Not only had he received a sibling, he relished the opportunity to have a pupil. Someone to mentor. Guide. Someone who, frankly, could understand and appreciate his genius. And who could benefit from it. Personally advance through his tutelage. 

They didn’t just play chess. Whatever Lex was studying at school, whatever his personal passion was at the moment - he shared it all with Lena. His passions burned hot and fast, often picking up a new hobby, mastering it completely and then having long abandoned it the next time he and Lena were under the same roof. Cell structure. Botany. Poisonous gases. Ultraviolet light waves. Nanotechnology. Lex would teach the basic concepts to Lena. He had a knack for translating complex concepts into so that the listener not only understood...cared. Lena wasn’t just a protege. Lex never seemed to understand that she was watching HIM more than the science he was purveying. His character, his drive, his mind, his charisma. Lex was just...extra. Something about him was just MORE than what other people had. More brains, more interest, more ability, more energy. Lex never seemed to sleep. It was unnaturally. At times he didn’t seem human. How could Lena not adore receiving all of his love and attention? The extraordinary boy, who Lillian loved more than anything, loved Lena more than anything. By the transitive property, this made Lena greater than her Stepmother and when Lex was away from home, which again, was a lot, and Lena was lying in bed and knowing she would wake up to Lillian, and only Lillian - for Lionel traveled so so very much for business - and Lex was gone, always gone, always almost home and then always preparing to leave again and then always leaving...Lena would lie in her bed and dream about finding a place where someone loved her and was there for her all the time. Time. Time travel.

If she were to one day time travel, what if she bumped into herself? How would she know it was her? Maybe she would be older, maybe she would be 20 years older, an adult, maybe her child self wouldn’t recognize her adult self. She’d need a safe word. Just like they were taught at school. So that if an adult came to collect you at school, and you didn’t recognize them, that adult would have to say the safe word, a word chosen by your family, a secret word, given only to trusted people in times of emergency, a word that would let children know they were safe. 

Lillian dismissed this notion and refused to make a safe word. “We have a staff of nearly fifty! There’s never going to be a person she doesn’t recognize!” Lillian wasn’t going to be told what to do by some grade school teachers. Lena on the other hand, loved the idea of a secret word. Loved the idea of her future self coming to rescue her child self. Lena laid in bed that night and decided that if there ever was time travel, she would use the word Jack O’Lantern.

Present Day Alex and Future Alex both turned and looked at Future Lena saying “Jack O’Lantern” to Present Day Lena and both of them (the Alex’s) realized this day was only getting stranger. 

Meanwhile, Present Day Lena knew she was talking to herself. It had happened. And of course Lena was prepared for a time travel scenario with a special time travel safe word, because even though they didn’t spend a whole lot of time together, Lex had taught Lena to think ahead, plot, plan and just...be extra. And that’s how she’s been ever since.

Present Day Lena snapped into awareness. Future Lena looked at her with pride and said,

“We did it.”

Present Day Lena already figured this out, but it was nice to have Future Lena telling her it anyway. They beamed at themselves with pride.

Reader - this may seem like the four of them were just standing and gawking at each other for an eternity. Nope. This was all happening in seconds. Boom! They appeared and shot Eddie. Eddie falls to the floor. Alex and Lena see their future selves. Future Alex barks “stand down.” Lena says “Jack O'Lantern at herself.” This was happening fast fast fast.

But in moments of trauma, time seems to slow down, doesn’t it?

Future Alex bent down to check on Maggie, Present Day Alex rushed to assist. The magnetic field pushed her back, away from Future Alex, hard. She saw Future Alex put her hands on Maggie's neck. Checking for a pulse. She was alive. The bullet had passed clean through her left side, no major organs or arteries were hit, however, she was losing a lot of blood and needed medical attention fast.

“She’s going to be fine,” said Future Alex to Present Day Alex, who was still confused and unsure who to believe or trust she was speechless. Future Alex put her hands under Maggie’s head and shoulders, getting ready to carry her out. 

Maggie’s eyes opened halfway. She saw two Alex’s above her. She knew she’d been shot. She figured she was seeing double. 

“Grab her feet,” commanded Future Alex.

Present Day Alex reached for Maggie’s feet.

“Not you. Her.”

She meant Future Lena. Future Lena grabbed Maggie’s feet and they lifted her and started carrying her out of the room. It was all happening so fast! 

Future Lena looked at Present Day Lena and said, “You did it. You do it. But you’ve got to do it now.”

Lena understood. She was telling herself that the time to start working on time travel, solving time travel was NOW.

“The Ryxlyn isotope. That’s the key.”

Present Day Lena and Present Day Alex were watching their future selves carry out a severely wounded Maggie. Meanwhile, Eddie was on the floor dead. Present Day Alex needed to do something! But was this something going to be trusting herself? Or going against herself? Since that’s what seemed to be the only two options!

“Where are you taking her?” screamed Present Day Alex at Future Alex.

“To the DEO - for medical attention,” said Future Alex back to herself.

“Which DEO? The one I know? Or some future one?” yelled Alex back to herself. 

Both Lena’s looked impressed. This was a very astute question! Even Future Alex thought it was pretty smart of herself to think.

“Present DEO. I’m going to check her in there as you so if anyone asks you were there!” 

And with that, Future Alex and Future Lena hauled Maggie onto the elevator.

“What am I supposed to do?” asked Present Day Alex to Future Alex. 

“Do whatever she tells you to do,” answered Future Alex. She meant Lena. She meant for Alex to do whatever was necessary to help Lena discover time travel.

“Good luck,” said Future Lena to Present Day Lena. The doors started to close.

“Oh, that’s Eddie!” yelled Future Alex... just as the doors shut.

Maggie was gone. Their Future Selves were gone.

Alex turned to Lena and they both looked at each other as if they’d just witnessed THE most extraordinary thing on Earth. Because they had!

“Looks like it’s just you and me,” said Alex.

But it wasn’t just the two of them. They looked at Eddie, laying in a lump. And as they stared at him, his body started to twinkle. And all of his cells began disappearing into specks of light and those specks of light burnt out like sparklers on the Fourth of July. And in a matter of moments, he was no more. Not a single trace of him. 

Lena’s and Alex’s mouths dropped open.

And then all the surreal energy of all the different encounters over the past two minutes was gone.

“I got 99 problems...but a dead body in my living room ain’t one,” said Lena.

Alex gave Lena side eye. “Do you want to solve time travel or do you want to rap?”

Lena walked up to Alex, stepping close. Not so close that she was in her personal space. Not so close that they were in kissing range. Just close enough to remind Alex that they HAD kissed, just enough to remind Alex of all the physical raw power and passion they’d shared, and all the sexual power Lena had once wielded over her. Lena wanted to see if she still had that power. Alex didn’t move one single muscle. And that was the proof. Alex was doing everything in her power to not show Lena her visceral reaction to her. Lena could see that there was still attraction, desire living in Alex. Maybe more than ever. Lena took an extra half step towards Alex and watched Alex blink twice, her body giving in, releasing energy and tension. Lena saw it, slanted her eyes and said to Alex with a smirk…

“I just watched you tell yourself to do what I say. So maybe instead of criticizing my rap lyrics, maybe you should just be a good girl and…”

Alex grabbed Lena’s upper arm and pulled her to the front door. “Oh, my GAWD,” said Alex. Exaggerating her exasperation. Lena burst into a huge smile. She loved Alex grabbing her. Leading her. Pulling her body firmly, holding her close, yet deep down...there was a love and tenderness to Alex’s touch. A reverence. Lena could feel it.

Alex pressed the button to the elevator. As they waited for it to arrive, Lena couldn’t stop herself from smiling. There was even a half smile on Alex. They were together again. And they were together in the future, too. For as freaky it was to see your future self, as oddly soul shaking and somewhat terrifying as it was...there was also nothing, not one single thing on Earth that was more reassuring than seeing your future self with your partner, knowing that you were together and you would STILL be together, if you just kept at it. And that you’d be a team. Trusting each other in the challenges of life. Even if those challenges held the fate of the planet and the alien race...and the human race...in the balance.

They were beaming.

The doors opened and Alex ushered Lena inside, her hand on the small of Lena’s back. And the most delicious, intimate, safe feeling rushed up Lena’s spine. Alex followed her inside the elevator, Lena pressed the button to the garage and they began their descent. Their journey down, down the rabbit hole and into a future where the future was anything but certain because they knew the future was going to be one where the past could be changed. 

“For the record,” said Alex, “I was right Friday night.”

“Right about what?” said Lena.

“About time travel!” said Alex.

Alex was reminding Lena about their perfect first date that had ended in disaster. The date where Lena went into a seeming fugue state and delivered a message to Alex about the future, with a little help from The Scavenger.

“I think you mean that I was right about time travel,” said Lena.

“You wanted to take me to a hospital and have my head examined,” said Alex. “And then you got mad at me for-”

Lena cut her off. “Remember that time you came back from the future and told yourself to do everything I tell you to do? Those were good times.”

They bickered like that all the way to Lena’s lab. Somehow making themselves giggle while addressing all the problems of the past 24 hours, somehow forgiving each other, somehow putting trust in each other. Underneath, they knew they were about to face the ultimate unknown. Both wondering, silently, secretly, if they were going to pull it off.


	12. Chapter 12

At around the time that Lena was working with Herbie the Love Bug and learning that L Corp had a mole sending out corporate secrets from the inside, which was the exact same time that Maggie and Alex had broken into Carmichael Waste Management to find former employee Eddie Carmichael’s address...elsewhere in National City...it was still Saturday morning and many of the city’s residents were sleeping in...

\---

Picture this: a black, silk sleep mask. Sumptuous. Pillowy. Perfect. Blackening out all the light. Soft against tender eyelids. Coaxing them to sleep with the gentle, subtle pressure of feather light padded fabric. Camera pans out. The figure wearing the mask is enveloped in the sheets of an equally sumptuous bed. Silk sheets, in red so deep it looks black. Ripples like waves cascading across the Custom California King mattress. The biggest money can buy. And the bed itself? Four poster. Dark mahogany wood. Five foot high headboard with intricate carvings of a Dionysian feast. Satyrs and women and musicians all in ecstatic play. Picture the figure sleeping in this bed, wrapped in those sheets, under that mask. A figure at rest. Sleeping the sleep of the gods.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The. Most. Annoying. Sounds.

The figure stirs. Head jerks awake. Startled. Doesn’t move. Waits to see what happens next. The sounds seemed to have ceased. The figure’s head slowly turns to the side, sinking into the pillow to continue sweet slumber.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The figure sits up! Ram rod straight. It’s The Scavenger. He’s still wearing the mask. You can see his wild, wispy hair, even more crazy due to bed head. And his luminous skin on his chin, his ears, his neck - peeking out from the vee in his black silk pajamas with white piping. His hands by his side, on the bed. His body not moving. Not one inch. The way an animals is completely still while they contemplate whether or not they will attack. His eyes are completely covered by the mask, yet you can just tell that they are wild with the extreme annoyance that comes when someone tries to steal your sleep. The noise has stopped. He waits like that. To see what will happen next. Maybe it’s a fluke. For this has certainly never happened before.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

He shoves the mask up off his face. As for his eyes...well...you were right. He is supremely annoyed. He looks at the light streaming through cracks in the heavy drapes. Judging by the light it must be 11am. He punches his fists into the bed. This is a ridiculous hour to have that kind of noise!! (The Scavenger doesn’t even get out of bed until 4pm and that’s on a work day. He’s been known to sleep in until 8pm. So consider that when you are picturing the look on his face. Very, very annoyed!) 

Then doesn’t move. He just sits there. Stalking the sound. As if any sudden movements might spook the loud noises and then, what then? They’d go away forever? That was his wish, certainly. Yet it if doesn’t, he’ll need to find it and...take care of it.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

It’s coming from below. Street level. The Scavenger gets out of bed, slides his feet into slippers, dons a robe, ties it around his waist and descends down four flights of stairs. The banging continues the entire way.

Is it a jackhammer? Is there a construction crew outside?

Even if there was, he shouldn’t be hearing them. The banging continued, steady, not letting up, getting louder and louder as he approached the source of this the loudest, most incredibly noisy nuisance he’d ever experience. And he was surprised that it was coming from his very own front door.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Scavenger threw the front door open with ire. His eyes turned from absolute fury to that of surprise and wonder and a bit of confusion when he saw who’d been knocking. It was a young woman. Handsome face. Long blonde locks tied back in a demure, braided half up style. Glasses. Button up shirt. Tight fitting trousers and penny loafers.

“Hello, Sir. I’m Kara Danvers from CatCo Magazine. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”

The Scavenger just stood there. Trying to understand things. He’d just woken up. He was furious about this fact. And now he was face to face with an absolutely stunning woman who wanted to ask him questions. Every last one of his cells lit up with pleasure. This could be the beginning of a delicious game, the cells thought. His mind hadn’t arrived there yet. This young woman had arrived uninvited. Interrupted his sleep. A high crime in his world. And yet it was as if Red Riding Hood herself had woken the Big Bad Wolf and was angling for an audience with him. The Scavenger was rarely at a loss for words, however, the dichotomy of the situation was stunning. And she was stunning.

“I’m writing an article about this area and it turns out that this building here…your home? Well, it just so happens to be the site of a famous murder.”

More information was coming his way and The Scavenger was trying to take it all in and make sense of it. You see, he wasn’t just trying to piece together the fact that a beautiful blonde reporter was seeking an audience with him to discuss some bit of true crime trivia...he was wondering how on earth her knock was able to rouse him. You see, his bedroom was on the fourth floor of his house and if you’ve been reading carefully, the fourth floor of The Scavengers warehouse is also a portal that touches the fourth dimension. Being slightly out of the third dimension when he’s in his chambers allows for a LOT more privacy. And a lot less interruption. 

The Scavenger wondered how the sound of this little girls knocking reached all the way to the fourth dimension.

“They were a gang of underworld criminals that were terrorizing local business owners, making them pay for protection and, uh, well, one day the citizens got together and trapped them inside...well...here...and, um, took matters into their own hands.” 

The Scavenger kept staring at this woman named Kara Danvers. His gaze was so open, so non judgemental, it was almost unnerving. When he looked at someone, he took in every single part of them. It was as if he was eyes were consuming every single thing that could be seen. Kara had never felt so looked at, never, never, never in her life. Her hands nervously reached for her glasses and fidgeted with them. A self soothing technique she’d started as a child, when her father made her wear glasses and pretend to be human.

The Scavenger started undressing Kara with his eyes. He’d seen her clothed. Now it was time to see her naked. He was methodical in his approach. Starting from the top. Taking her hair down. Then moving onto her glasses. Wondering what she would look like without them. And when she reached for her glasses in real life, it was like his fantasy and this present day reality became one, allowing his imagination to completely and fully envision exactly what she would look like without them.

A-ha. Kara Danvers is Supergirl. 

A huge smile spread across his face. Kara felt even more nervous. She looked down at her feet and shuffled them.

So that’s why her sound was so loud. It was Supergirl pounding on my front door. Knocking so loud the sound waves crashed right through third dimensional reality and into the fourth.

“I just have a few questions. I promise I won’t take too much of your time.” Kara looked up hopefully, desperately and yet with a firm determination. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

And now that The Scavenger knew it was Supergirl at his doorstep, in her little disguise as a meek reporter and not alien goddess, there was no way The Scavenger was going to say no. 

“A crime? In my little home? This is most surprising.” First of all, The Scavenger’s home wasn’t little. It was an enormous warehouse. Secondly, he couldn’t even count the number of crimes that had taken place in his home since he’d taken up residence. There were no less than 40 stolen artifacts in it right now. Thirdly, Supergirl’s little get up, her preppy outfit and silly glasses was the worst disguise he’d ever seen. The tone of his voice was hilarious. He was doing everything in his power to not laugh out loud. He didn’t want this moment to end. So when he wasn’t talking, he kept his mouth closed and bit the inside of his cheek.  
“Yes. I’ve been doing research on the “Dressed to Kill” era and it led me here. Do you mind if I come inside?”

An enormous smile spread across The Scavenger’s face. Had a woman ever been this aggressive? In trying to get into his house, his mind? It created an exquisite sensation throughout him. It was like the smell of saffron, a dark sweet scent, from the most expensive and rare spice in the world. Supergirl had donned a disguise to dupe him so that she could gain entry into his house, a house that she’d already been in. A house that he himself had given her a tour of. Supergirl and The Scavenger were more than acquaintances. They’d defeated an interdimensional criminal together and attended a sex party together. Supergirl knew she could call on him at any moment. So why on Earth was she showing up as mousy Kara Danvers? 

“Most intriguing. Please, yes, come in.” He stepped aside and Kara marched into the door, and when she did, the warehouse transformed into a well appointed foyer / living room.

Kara pretended to look around as if she were seeing things for the first time and doing a bad job of it. She was clearly here with an agenda. This pleased The Scavenger even more. Secret identity. Secret agenda. He loved all manner of games, especially ones with women who liked to play dress up.

“May I offer you something to drink?” The Scavenger turned and started walking towards his kitchen, a part of the house Kara and Lena didn’t see. 

“No thank you, I was just wondering, I have a few questions…” Kara pulled out her reporter’s notebook and double timed it to keep up with him.

“Ms. Danvers, is it? Please excuse my state of dress. My job requires me to work late occasionally and I’ve just woken up. And before I answer any of your questions, I will require a caffeinated beverage. Otherwise I simply will be of no use to you.” 

He walked into the kitchen. It was expansive and old. Build to accommodate several servants working simultaneously. There was a 20’ long cast iron stove. In the middle of the room was a 16 foot long work table whose top was made of zinc. Brilliantly shining copper pots hung from above and in the corner was a Bezzera Eagle espresso machine, which looked like something out of a steampunk Willy Wonka au. The Scavenger started to grind an ample amount of espresso beans and the room filled with a rich aroma that filled Kara’s nose and tastebuds with desire for a rich latte. The Scavenger could see it in her eyes. He could read women and their tastes and their needs like no other. He filled and tamped two portafilters, inserted them into the machine with suave, calm authority and pressed a button that began the brewing process. 

Kara pushed her glasses around some more, which filled The Scavenger with delight. He knew it was a means of self-pacifying. She was uncomfortable and nervous, and yet was doing everything in her power to continue, even touching herself to make herself feel better.   
Very sexy.

He crossed the kitchen and opened what looked like a regular cabinet door, which was the dairy fridge, and pulled out a clear glass pitcher full of ice cold, whole milk. It looked and smelled delicious. Combined with the creamy espresso that was now pouring into four tiny cups, Kara suddenly wanted nothing more than a breakfast drink.

“I’m...really...it’s…” Kara tried to stay on track with her reporting. The Scavenger cut her off.

“Just a moment, my dear.” He’d poured the milk into a stainless steel frothing pitcher, placed it under a jet and pulled a lever which released hot steam. He swirled the pitcher gently round, and watching this slow yet purposeful movement, gently rocking, swirling in little circles, caused a delightful, sensation throughout Kara. Lulling her into an almost meditative state, completely soothed. The Scavenger didn’t even look at her. He could just feel it. The next thing kara new, there was a perfect latte in her hand, topped with rich creamy foam. She didn’t even say thank you. She just brought it to her lips and sipped, a bit of creamy milk touching her upper lip. The Scavenger watched as Kara’s tongue darted out of her mouth and licked herself clean. 

“Delicious,” said The Scavenger, who hadn’t even tasted the cappuccino he’d made for himself, the one he was holding with two fingers, the one which stopped mid flight on the way to his mouth so he could watch this Super girl lick her lips.

“Yes, it is,” said Kara. 

He noticed that she was completely and totally oblivious to the seduction that was taking place. His mouth took on a wry smile as his cup continued it’s journey up to his mouth and drank his morning delight. 

“Ahhh. I’m feeling much better. Where would you like to talk?”

\---

And at the same time, in the outskirts of National City County, where the roads widen and the tall buildings disappear and the roads lead to large swaths of undeveloped land, rolling hills dotted with trees and giant country houses, multi-million dollar estates designed for industry magnates with a penchant for Equestrian activities, zero in on one of these homes, past the main house, past the five car garage, past the stables, past the carriage house and the servant quarters, past the riding track and down the hillside is a large piece of property that houses many of the golf carts used by staff and family to travel across the hundred acre property, plus an entire mechanical and electrical workshop to do on-site residential and automotive repairs.

It was the Candy Man Terrence Green’s Country Estate. Named Rosemary Hall for his Great Grandmother. It was the perfect place for Eddie to build and perfect his time machine. He was there tinkering, as Candy Man and Lillian watched. 

And bickered.

“This was supposed to be finished weeks ago. If this guy worked for me, he would have been fired a long time ago,” whispered Candy Man into Lillian’s ear, letting her know how irate he was at the progress - or lack thereof - that was being made. 

Lillian was perturbed at this car wash turned candy counter millionaire speaking to a Luthor with that type of tone. He was clearly a rube, an uncultured, new money simpleton who learned the bread part of the bread and circuses and none of the reasons WHY it was better for the unwashed masses to be fed and entertained. The general population was simply not suited nor smart enough to know what was best for them. It was up to the people like Lillian, people born into wealth and privilege and born with the brains and foresight to create reasons and plans and principles that would guide everyone into the future. 

And right now, that meant controlling the past. And to do that means working with the enemy. The alien. The...Eddie.

Lillian took a deep breath. Didn’t want to lash out in anger at Candy Man. There was no way they could move this top secret operation off his estate at this late stage of the game. Not without calling attention to this massive vortex...which Eddie just so happened to turn on.

Candy Man almost leapt out of his skin. The giant circle drawn on the concrete floor, nicked with markings (at seemingly random intervals along its circumference, which were at specific degrees that corresponded with original points at the vortex’s various spirals) suddenly was filled with a vibrating, translucent, blush rose pink swirling mass. It pulsates and the floor shook so much that Candy Man almost lost balance. It was like being in the presence of a 18 foot tall tornado, except it wasn’t made of wind, it was pure, interdimensional energy. 

Even Eddie was take aback. It was like the love of his life has just walked back into the room, back into his life, looking better than ever, not knowing how long she’d be there, not knowing if she was single or married or available or even real. Not knowing if she was a figment of his imagination. Not knowing if he’d finally gone insane. For this was a dream of his, a fantasy of his, a dream, a desire and a wish, his heart’s deepest longing…for it to finally appear before him, in all it’s glory, surely he must be imagining this? Surely, he has lost his mind and entered the bliss of madness?

Lillian’s years and years of ballet and pilates served her well. Her core strength and natural sense of balance kept her sure footed as the tornado swelled and manifested before their third dimensional eyes. The scientist in her made several calculations. Noticing it’s size and speed and shape. All according to plan. They’d done it. Lillian’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She’d forgotten all about Candy Man Green’s impudence. All she cared about was her plan. Everything was coming together. Mr. Green just looked in awe as Lillian crossed the room and put her hand on Eddie’s shoulder. 

“Eddie. When will we test this?”

Eddie felt Lillian’s warm hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t take his eyes off the vortex. His love was about to be consummated.

“Right now,” replied Eddie. There was a tone to his voice. It was more deep and resonant than ever before. It even gave Lillian pause. She’d never heard him sound like this. She quickly realized the reason. He was about to enter that vortex and test time travel.

“Eddie, I can’t risk losing you. Let’s try it with something else first,” said Lillian.

His head whipped around. Lillian had just said the unthinkable. She was telling him NOT to go to his love. He looked crazed. He looked defiant. Lillian stayed smooth and cool.

“The vortex needs you to care for it. You need to make sure it’s ready for you,” she was disgusted to be having to speak of the vortex, this science project, in such personal, in such sexual terms...however, she’d come to learn that it was what Eddie needed to remain focused and on task. And once again it worked like a charm.

He nodded. Then waited for Lillian to tell me what was next. She was the brains of this operation through and through.

“Why not a horse?” asked Lillian.

Mr. Green heard this and was appalled. It was obviously one of HIS horses they were thinking of using. Those horses each cost thousands of dollars, even thousands more to house and care for them. And to his grandchildren, they were like family members. How would he explain a dead horse carcass in the machine shop to his staff? To his kids? To their kids?

“Forget it!” cried Mr. Green from across the room.

Lillian and Eddie ignored him, as they often did, continuing their conversation as if they’d heard exactly nothing of importance.

“It’s organic and several times your mass. If it can survive the journey, then you should be safe to begin mission.” Lillian’s reasoning was sound. Eddie nodded. 

Lillian walked over to Mr Green. She was wearing riding boots, and with each step it was made clear that she was not going to be asking, she was going to be telling. It was something Lena had watched her whole life. How Lillian could convey something with just a movement, a gesture. She was trained in the Balanchine Technique, a style of ballet that emphasized speed and athleticism with precision, power and grace. It was beautiful and intimidating. Like mother like daughter. 

“Terry, it’s time.” Lillian didn’t have to explain further. He knew it was useless to argue with her. Even if one of his horses died, it would be well worth the sacrifice. They were going to save the entire human race from aliens.

Terrence walked out and headed to the stables. Trying to figure out which one to pick. Would it be the oldest? No. That was Eddie’s favorite. He couldn’t risk the life of the youngest Grandchild’s favorite horse. He continued trying to figure out his selection as he walked half heartedly towards the stables.

“I’m proud of you, Eddie,” said Lillian. Hating the fact that she had to stroke the ego of this alien in order to achieve her ends. Eddie played coy, but her words flooded him with a type of parental love that he’d never experienced. Luckily, Eddie kept his eyes on the vortex, his creation, with awe. He didn’t see the look of supreme disgust sweep over Lillian’s face. She couldn’t wait for her ‘partnership’ with the alien to come to an end. 

\---

Kara and The Scavenger sipped on their coffee drinks as Kara speed mumbled her way through bullet points of National City’s most infamous moment of mass vigilantism. The Scavenger just watched from over the top of his beverage as he continued to drink, content to be patient and see where this was leading.

“So that’s why I was wondering if you might give me a tour of your home?” 

The Scavenger cocked his head and asked, “Again?”

A huge lump formed in Kara’s throat. Her face turned flush. She didn’t say a word. It was clear that The Scavenger was looking at Supergirl pretending to be a human. His eyes were now positively daring her to continue the ridiculous, preposterous ruse. It was clear the only way to move forward was to admit the truth. Kara was loathe to do so. The Scavenger was part criminal. Although he was also part gentleman. Kara took a deep breath. It was a staring contest. They just sat and sized each other up. This lastest what seemed for ages…

“I want to talk to you about about the seven minutes in heaven room,” Kara finally blurted out.

“My dear, why didn’t you say so?” inquired The Scavenger. This was not an outlandish request. In fact, most people who visit with a loved one, with someone who’d left this world for another, often had lingering questions. Granted, the questions they had were often ones that The Scavenger couldn’t answer. Questions about faith, about relativism, morality, ethical questions, questions about life paths and all that other mumbo jumbo that The Scavenger honestly didn’t pay much attention to in his own life and certainly didn’t in the lives of others. He prefered hedonism, pleasure, leisure, beauty, aesthetics, and the feminine. He stood up and rummaged through a “junk drawer” in his kitchen and found a business card and brought it to Kara.

“When people have questions after visiting that room, I send them to this woman,” he said as he handed the card to Kara.

Kara took the card without looking at it. She had no need to a psychic or a spiritual medium or any of that stuff. She was here to talk science. She’d finished her charts and needed to check on her numbers before feeling certain about the events she’d forecasted, the events that were fore-ordained, by Rao, events that would remain unchanged no matter what. The scientific destiny of her life stream.

“Oh!” said The Scavenger. He was genuinely surprised, at Kara’s brilliance and cunning, how she’d used that room in a way and for a purpose that in all his years The Scavenger had never seen. He looked at Supergirl with awe. She wasn’t as dumb as she played at being. In fact, maybe all the years of pretending to be human had made her act a LOT dumber than she appeared. In some ways, in many ways, she was more powerful and brilliant than nearly everyone on this planet. So brilliant, in fact, that her science and math and physics prowess so utterly eclipsed that of humans...that Supergirl simply had no one to talk with about it, and no place to apply her knowledge. The entire infrastructure of Earth was based on such rudimentary principles that even if Kara began teaching Kryptonian level STEM subjects, she’d simply be in classrooms teaching the world’s greatest professors and it would take them months if not years to catch on...and then they would need to begin teaching the rest of the planet, it would take generations before any sweeping changes were made. And yet, because Earth was still in a rudimentary phase when it came to sciences, well, iht was one of the reasons Supergirl loved Lena so much. Despite how crude the science was that Lena was taught, Lena still approached it with gusto. Supergirl loved that. So it was no surprise when The Scavenger brought up Kara’s BFF.

“Darling, I know a lot of different people, many of whom are specialize in…” The Scavenger searched for the right word. “...subjects both exotic and esoteric.” He was pleased with his word choice. “However, I don’t happen to know any scientists...other than the very, very lovely Lena Luthor. Who I believe that you also know. As you were here with her not too long ago. On a date, I believe. It was a date, wasn’t it?”

Kara immediately turned flush red. The Scavenger knew he’d hit a nerve. He needed to keep pushing.

“Did you two ladies have a nice time at my party?” The Scavenger wanted ALL the salacious details. Knew that Supergirl wouldn’t be so quick to divulge. She was dressed as Kara Danvers at the moment, however, which was a form of disguise. And The Scavenger had already disrobed her of that. Not her actual clothes, but the idea they were trying to convey.

“We...uhm...the party was nice.” Kara pushed her glasses around. The Scavenger didn’t stop.

“You both looked lovely. You’re a lovely couple,” he said.

“We’re not...we’re just friends,” said Kara.

“Just friends? You seemed to be much more than friends.” No one had ever said that to Kara. Not directly. The Scavenger was the first person to ever bring that up. In person. In the open. Despite her discomfort, Kara didn’t want him to stop talking. And yet she didn’t want to seem so eager to hear more. She just sat there in silence. The Scavenger could tell right away that she was more than intrigued to hear his analysis. She was downright thirsty for it. 

“Do you know what makes me a master of acquiring intergalactic antiquities?” He waited for Kara to answer. She nodded no. “I’ve learned how to discern what is real...and what is fake. I watched you and Lena Luthor together, Supergirl. There is a connection between the two of you that is very, very real.”

Kara wanted him to continue. Her eyes blew wide open. She wanted to know more. And yet what came out of her mouth was the complete opposite. Humans do this a lot, and Kara learned by osmosis this very bad habit.

“We’re friends,” said Kara. “Best friends.” 

“You have a connection. A connection with chemistry. I’m telling you right now, Supergirl. It’s being wasted on just friendship. And I believe you know that.” 

Kara looked down at her shoes. She was so sure of things and now suddenly she wasn’t sure about anything at all. Were her charts completely wrong?? She needed to check her numbers. She needed to check her heart. She needed to… What the hell is wrong with me? Just a few days ago this guy was my enemy and now I’m sitting in his kitchen and he’s telling me things that no one else in my life has said to me and they feel….so true….

She was so confused. Confused about why no one in her life was giving her the time and attention that this...this criminal was. Confused about what her mother said to her about her future. Confused about her feelings for Lena. The whole purpose of this star chart was so that I didn’t have to think about Lena that way!!!!

And with that, Kara realized that she *did* have feelings for Lena. And she felt guilty about them. And that’s why she so desperately wanted to find out that Lena wasn’t in her future. Because if she wasn’t in her future, then I won’t have to fight Alex for her and I won’t have to make our friendship awkward and I won’t have to choose or be rejected or hurt anyone or be hurt by the people who are closest to me…

The Scavenger watched Kara as she stared down at her shoes, growing ever more and more despondent. He wanted to reach out to her hand and caress it. Not in a sexual way. In a comforting way. This almost parental feeling that spontaneously emerged from him was so surprising that he didn’t move at all. Normally when he reached out to caress women, it was with the intent to eventually de-frock and de-flower. Where was this ...de-cency coming from? With his his entire raison d’etre at risk, The Scavenger leapt up, took Kara by the arm and started leading her out.

“I’m sorry I can’t have you stay longer, I just realized there are some things I need to take care of…” 

“Oh. Um. Thanks for the coffee,” said Kara.

“Anytime,” said The Scavenger. Then quickly added, “Anytime AFTER 6pm. My dear, this was far, far too early.” They were at the door. “Consider yourself lucky that you have one of the world’s most brilliant scientists as your lover.” Kara’s mouth opened to protest and The Scavenger immediately corrected it before she could speak. “I mean, friend.” Shooting Kara a look that said...girl, please. 

Her heart was beating out of her chest as she stepped outside and the heavy door closed behind it, for as it closed, a dimensional door was closing. The warehouse was now empty inside. Dusty. Barren. The street was dirty and the sun beat down on her. She started walking towards the bus stop when she heard a cry for help a few miles away…

And within less than a second, she’d changed to Supergirl and flew across town to save the day.

\---

Satie was playing with her dollhouse on the rug in her living room. Mom was next door at Mrs. Caldwell’s getting some apples that had been picked up from a local farmer’s market. She was going to make strudel that night and was only going to be gone for a minute or two. Sadie would be just fine…

And she was. Until all of a sudden, a giant horse hoof smashed right through the dollhouse!

Sadie screamed. It had almost stepped right on her hand, as she’d just finished putting a little baby in a little crib in the little bedroom of the doll house. Children’s screams are at a very high pitch, one that Supergirl had become keenly aware of and responded to even faster than a normal cry for help. In moments, Supergirl was at the house and entered through the front door. She immediately saw the issue. A horse, confused and disoriented, was in the living room. It was snorting and stomping, spinning round and round, wondering how the fuck it got here in the first place. Sadie backed herself against the brick fireplace. At any moment a powerful horse hoof might stomp or kick her, crushing her bones, her skull. Supergirl needed to act fast. But what to do? Grab the horse and subdue it? There was no place to put it down! The horse seemed to fill every inch of the room. Grab it and fly it out of the room? There was no entrance big enough to leave with it. She’d have to break right through the walls or ceiling and destroy their house and there were always a never ending stream of complaints about all the damage Supergirl does that she was hesitant to do that….so she decided to simply save Sadie. This all happened in seconds. Supergirl saw the horse. Ran to Sadie and stood between her and the horse. The horse reared up at the sudden movement, profoundly spooked. It raised up on it’s hind legs and was about to land on Supergirl’s chest when suddenly…

You guessed it. The horse disappeared.

Supergirl and Sadie just looked in silence. What the hell had just happened?

\---

Lillian, Eddie and Terry Green watched in amazement as the horse manifested in the vortex before them. Curiously, it had it’s hoof smashed inside a child’s doll house. It was a dark omen. Children. Property. Destroyed. Lillian never seemed to catch these things.

“Excellent,” she said. “Send it back to that exact coordinates, ten seconds later.”

Eddie fiddled with some controls. The horse disappeared. A few moments later, it reappeared. No dollhouse on it’s foot. Lillian inspected the ground closely. 

“Turn it off,” she barked to Eddie. The vortex shut down, the pink swirls disappeared. The horse was twisting and turning. “Take it away, Terry. Now.” Terrence Green reached for the bridle and pulled the horse of the circle. Lillian approached it and saw a few shards of pink wood were there. Pieces of a dollhouse. Lillian picked some up as if they were pink diamonds.

“This proves our theory. It had gone to the same place, yet by returning to the exact same place yet a few moments into the future - different results. Trip one - dollhouse on it’s foot. Trip two - no dollhouse, just a few smashed fragments. We’ve proven you can travel back in time. And return unharmed.” 

Lillian smiled broadly. 

Eddie was a bit more nervous. 

The horse Terry was trying to lead outside looked positively unhinged. 

Eddie couldn’t help but wonder...was there something about time travel that severely messed with your mind and emotions?


	13. Chapter 13

Penthouse elevator. Traveling down. 

Inside was Future Alex and Future Lena. Maggie sandwiched between them. Her arms slung over each of their shoulders.

You remember Future Alex and Future Lena, don’t you? 

Appearing in the penthouse? In the nick of time? Both wearing standard issue DEO uniforms? Killing Eddie. Saving themselves. Showing themselves, their present day selves, that time travel was absolutely real. Urging themselves. To stay together. Urging themselves to save the world. To unlock the secrets of time travel. To stop whatever plot that Eddie had set into motion. That was probably still in motion. Even if in the future he returned to the present and died…his present day self was still very much alive. And apparently the fate of the world would soon be in the balance due to his sinister agenda and nefarious actions.

Have I jogged your memory, Readers? Yes? You understand where we are? In the present, yet following Future Alex and Future Lena, our two time travelers? Excellent. Since we are all on the same page, I assume you will forgive me for not typing out Future Alex and Future Lena for the rest of this sequence. It’s clunky. And you deserve only the most elegant prose.

You do understand that Maggie is in urgent need of medical care, don’t you? 

Maggie had just been shot. It wasn’t fatal. Didn’t hit an artery or any major internal organ. She was, however, losing blood. Her breath was laboring. Her body slowing down systems to conserve energy.

“You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be fine,” said Alex. Her tone caring. Intimate. Commanding. 

Lena felt a pang of jealousy. Cursed herself for it. Shamed herself for it. Then forgave herself for it and put it out of her mind completely. She wasn’t in CEO mode. She was in combat mode. The only thing that mattered was getting Maggie to safety as fast as possible. Lena tried turning herself to steel. It didn’t quite work. Something about Maggie was so real, so vulnerable. Her body pressed up against Lena. Limp. Lovely. Vulnerable. Valuable. Lena could feel in her bones, in her blood, that the world needed Maggie in it. Nothing in her life had ever felt so viscerally important than to make sure this woman stayed alive.

Maggie didn’t seem to be aware there had been multiple Alex’s and multiple Lena’s in the penthouse. She’d already been shot and was on the ground when they arrived. She was staring at the ceiling. Assumed she was seeing double. She was grateful to be on her feet. That Alex and Lena were taking her to safety. Didn’t notice that both of them were wearing different clothes. Certainly didn’t notice they were from the future. Maggie wanted to make a joke, a quip, something about a threesome. Maggie’s brain tried to craft a one liner. It couldn’t find the words. Her eyes started to close. She was feeling drifty and dozy. Due to blood loss. Alex’s other hand stayed pressed up against the wound. Maggie’s head leaned over, softly landing on Alex’s shoulder. Alex and Lena watched the elevator numbers go down in a steady pace. Both keenly aware of the urgency. Both utterly powerless to make it go any faster. For two time travelers, it was beyond ironic.

Alex quickly made about ten different medical assessments. Knew there should be plenty of time to get Maggie to the DEO. Technically, Maggie was still awake, still conscious, still breathing. Clinical death would only occur if Maggie’s heart stopped beating. Without a heart pushing blood to the brain, brain cells don’t get the oxygen they need to survive. Alex was keenly aware if that were to occur, they would have between four to six minutes before biological death. People have had their heart restarted. People have come back from clinical death. Biological death was a different story. That’s when resuscitation is impossible. 

Ding.

The elevator doors opened. Alex and Lena breathed a sigh of relief that no one was in the garage at that very moment. They hastened out and as Lena directed them towards row of cars, she pressed the surface of her Jaeger-LeCoultre transponder watch and the headlights of an Aston Martin Rapide S sedan in UltraMarine Black blinked awake, the doors unlocked, the car turned on. 

Not only did Lena own one of the world’s most achingly beautiful performance vehicles, she was also wearing a twenty two thousand dollar car key on her wrist.

You should have seen the look on Alex’s face. 

As they were practically dragging Maggie, Lena couldn’t see the look, but she certainly felt it.

“It’s so I don’t lose it,” said Lena. Her tone suggesting that having a keyless entry remote programmed under the sapphire crystal of her watchface was the most reasonable purchase in the world. 

Alex wasn’t shocked at the car, or the watch. She was surprised that Lena even had a license. Few people from Metropolis ever got one due to unlimited access to public transportation. As a Luthor, Lena had unlimited access to private transportation. A car and driver available to her 24/7 since she walked into the Luthor household. Car and driver. Plane and pilot. Yacht and captain. Space Shuttle and astronaut. Alex had assumed they would be meeting Yaron. In the town car, which was just a few cars away. 

Yes. Yaron was there in the town car. He was power napping. Something he learned in the Israeli army. Catching zzz’s whenever possible. If Lena needed him, she would text or call, instantly waking him. Lena seemed to be highly aware of Yaron’s proximity. She kept her voice low. Hoping he was asleep and not reading or facetiming with one of his grandchildren. 

As they neared the car, Alex started to understand the situation. She would be in a car that Lena was driving. The thought put a chill in Alex. To be fair, Lena didn’t exactly seem very coordinated. Alex had Lena run and...well...it was a bit of a mess. How would her driving be? This wasn’t just a pleasure cruise around town, this was with a gunshot victim who needed emergency care fast. A gunshot victim who just so happens to be a NCPD officer. Who just so happens to be with a FBI agent, who just so happens to be a fake FBI agent because she just so happens to be a DEO, who just so happens to be, in this moment, a time traveler. Which means that there are two of her right now. An interloper in this dimension, in this moment in time. A double. A doppleganger. And so was Lena.

Getting pulled over for a ticket would be an absolute disaster.

“Do you want me to drive?” asked Future Alex.

Future Lena didn’t seem to pay attention to the question. Instead she opened the front passenger seat and moved it all the way back. 

“She’ll have to sit on your lap,” said Lena. Alex saw that Lena was correct. All the seats were bucket. Lena helped load Maggie on Alex’s lap. Good thing the two of you are the size of elves, thought Lena, as she buckled them in, Maggie curled up in Alex’s lap. Alex’s hand still pressed hard against her wound. Lena rushed into the driver’s seat, reversed the car and slowly backed out of the parking space. 

The lights and motion of Lena’s car in motion woke Yaron up instantly. 

“Duck,” said Lena. 

Alex didn’t question why, just pulled her and Maggie down as far as possible. Yaron turned around and saw the outline of Lena driving away. Didn’t see she was with Alex and Maggie. She looked alone. Yaron wondered where she was going. He felt sick to his stomach every time Lena traveled without him. Knew he might never know where she was going. She’s either mention it or she wouldn’t. Their relationship had limits. Being her bodyguard for so long, he wished for nothing more than to know she was safe. Not knowing was the worst. He just sat there and stared at the garage wall before him. Then said a silent prayer for her.

Lena slowly drove through the twisty garage towards the street. Her and Alex were having one of their psychic moments. Both thinking the same thoughts, without looking at each other, without speaking. They had only planned on time traveling for two minutes. The mission: arrive at the penthouse warn their present day selves about Eddie’s arrival and urge them to solve time travel. The mission had already changed dramatically. They were late. Or had Eddie arrived early? Either way, there was a casualty. Eddie was dead. And Maggie was injured. And their trip was extended not by seconds, but by minutes. Based on what had happened and what still needed to happen, possibly 20 minutes. This was beyond worst case scenario. According to Lena’s calculations, time travel could only be done in 2-3 minute increments to ensure the integrity of the subject’s re-entry. The effects of long term time travel on the psyche was simply...unknown. Could the brain’s delicate neural networks sustain extended time travel period and still keep their integrity?

A pit formed in both Lena’s and Alex’s stomach as the car left the garage and turned onto the street.

“Where to?” asked Lena.

“9th and Olive. About ten minutes away,” said Alex, sweat forming on her brow. From adrenaline. From the heat of Maggie’s body on top of her.

“We’ll get there in five,” said Lena. 

The car when from zero to sixty in in 4.2 seconds flat. Lena had gassed it and the car zoomed towards it’s destination, pressing Alex and Maggie back into their seats as Lena expertly weaved her way through traffic and yellow lights. Not only was this a major performance vehicle, Lena knew how to DRIVE. 

Alex had so many questions. Now wasn’t the time. She asked anyway.

“Where did you learn to drive?” asked Alex.

“Surprised?” asked Lena.

“No offense, but … I’ve seen you run,” said Alex.

“Lionel loved to teach. And he loved to drive,” said Lena as she cut the wheel and turned left, attacking the corner with an insane amount of ferocity. The car operated like it was out of a tron movie, it’s undercarriage hugging the ground like a magnet. Alex almost gasped.

“If you had big boobs...,” said Future Lena continuing to weave through traffic with ease, knowing she was probably impressing Alex and turning her on, “...you’d run a little funny, too.”

Alex was not only impressed and turned on, but also a little afraid. In this moment, their chemistry, trust and teamwork was off the charts. And they both knew it and were basking in it. 

“My boobs are just fine,” said Alex.

“Yes they are,” said Maggie, who was still curled up against Alex. It was a supremely awkward moment. Bordering on tragic. You see, neither Alex nor Lena could tell if Maggie was just being a goof ball, or if she was a in a half conscious state due to blood loss and in this moment couldn’t remember that Alex and her were no longer together. 

The gravity of the situation was once again writ large. The energy of the moment heavy with life or death consequences. For all of them. Maggie was losing blood. Alex and Lena were losing the odds at returning safely. Saving Maggie was more important. That went without saying. They were from the future. If a future self died in present time, their present day selves still had a shot of changing an outcome. If present day Maggie died…

The entered a straightaway and Lena gassed the engine even more. It could have easily been either one of them. Eddie just happened to aim at Maggie first. If Eddie had shot Lena or Alex first...if they had died, both their present and future selves would have ceased to be. Erased completely. Instantly. And forever. No one said another word for the rest of the drive.

Which was only 60 more seconds. 

I told you. Lena was driving very, very fast.

\---

Those last 60 seconds would prove very fateful. You see, Agent Vasquez decided to use her lunch break to take a run. Pounding the pavement. Wind in her hair. Legs kicking. Arms pumping. Earbuds in. Windbreaker. Tight leggings. And a performance headband, which might sound questionable but believe me it looked hot. Her skin pink and flush. 

She was nearing the DEO, almost finished. Her entire run had been spending wondering, figuring, wishing, dreaming, hoping, planning, plotting. What would it take for her to advance?? She was never called to be in the field. That was the next step. Out of the situation room and into the field, fighting side by side with Agent Danvers and, one day, Supergirl. 

She’d talked to J’onn about this already. During her quarterly performance review. Most agents are on annual reviews, however, with the core team a greater frequency is needed. Mental fitness needs to be constantly examined. Just knowing the sheer number of alien attacks that occur, the number of threats that lurk around every corner, seeing destruction, injury, death, knowing the fate of people and populations depend upon you doing your job properly, perfectly, precisely...these things can weigh on a person. Pressures can be buried deep in the psyche, similar to one grain of sand slipping inside an oyster and turning into a pearl, one incident, one burden, one image can lodge deep inside an agent and grow to a boulder, a burden, a beast. Four years ago, one of their top agents shot himself in the locker room. He’d just had lunch with several other agents in the cafeteria. They were all laughing. To this day, no one knows exactly why. Was it work? Family? Personal? Other? There were several policy changes that were rolled out after that. Although the department never explicitly stated they were related. Performance review frequency was one.

Vasquez had prepared for it. Gave J’onn a bit of a speech. She’d practiced every night for a week before giving it. Wanted to make sure she didn’t miss any of the relevant points. Her stellar record, her ambitions, her aims. Letting him know she wanted to have her responsibilities increased. She wanted field assignments with Danvers.

J’onn was surprised. Vasquez wanted this promotion. Badly. She was showing a passion that didn’t often show up in the situation room. In fact, it was Vasquez’s softness that J’onn appreciated. It was a quality that the rest of the team lacked. Alex Danvers was a consummate professional, that is, until she loses her shit and physically attacks prisoners, detonates explosives while she’s in the very structures she’s aiming to destroy (granted, along with the enemy), hangs out the windows of cars while firing automatic weapons at speeding semis - the list goes on and on, people. Vasquez had a young, soft energy. Little sister energy. Mascot energy. J’onn listened to Vasquez’s speech about wanting to be in the field and sighed deeply. He didn’t say so, but he just never pictured Vasquez doing any of those things. For as much as Alex Danvers breaks the rules...at that level, an agent needs to be prepared to go rogue, break laws and devise plans and withstand the unthinkable while protecting the world against the unimaginable. 

That wasn’t Vasquez. And it never was going to be. J’onn didn’t have the heart to say that to her. Frankly, she had a great home life. The day that her and her twin brother were born (oh, yes, Vasquez is a twin) they were loved and cherished by her parents. Being a twin, Vasquez has had a soul mate from day one. From even before day one! In the womb! This constant and perfect partner, friend, sibling in her brother, combined with two healthy, loving to the point of doting parents, well, there was no chip on her shoulder. And in the world of secret agents, this was NOT an asset. Vasquez had nothing to prove. Not on the deep level that Alex did. (How could Alex ever show anyone she was special with Supergirl as a sister?) Not on the level that J’onn did. (After abandoning his planet, how could he ever redeem himself?) Not on the level that Winn did. (How could he prove that he wasn’t his father, the evil Toyman?) And never on the level that Supergirl did. (She’d failed to fulfill her parents dying wish - to protect Clark. Utterly, utterly failed. And has been making up for that ever since.) The first roadblock in life that Vasquez had ever faced was not being put into the field to fight alongside Alex. 

J’onn explained that there were limited openings, reminded her that Alex’s position opened up only after there had been a suicide and several positions were re-examined, reshuffled and reassigned. Each team, each department was a puzzle. A mandala. Where all the members filled a specific space that created a pattern that was strong, stable… J’onn continued with his inspirational speech despite the obvious disappointment washing over Vasquez’s face. Which sadly only served to confirm that she was too soft and gentle for a role that involved constant combat. 

Vasquez wasn’t a killer.

Still, during her run - she continued to wonder what she could do to advance. She wasn’t going to give up. She’d already took additional education classes. Learned coding, studied military tactics both ancient and modern, practiced mock hostage negotiations with the FBI, started memorizing a roster of both missing persons and most wanted criminals. Little did she know - she was avoiding all the things that might have told J’onn she had what it takes. A killer instinct. Why wasn’t she taking martial arts classes? Living in the firing range? Perfecting her assassination skills?

I’ll tell you why. Vasquez didn’t want to kill. Deep down, in her true nature, at her most essential self Vasquez was a helper. A healer. A counselor. A support. A resource. She was all these things and more and she was damn good at all of them. Her achilles heel was that she admired Alex Danvers so much she wanted to BE her. And since she couldn’t be her, maybe she could be near her. Be by her side, doing the same things she did. She didn’t understand that to put herself in that position, she’d been going against her essential nature, and therefore stepping outside of her lifestream, outside of the beneficial, unseen forces that help us along, outside of the series of good luck and coincidences that are on our side and into the non-life supporting energies that conspire to tell us to turn back, give up and try again some other way. Vasquez had never been outside of her lifestream before. She wouldn’t have a single clue as to what any of this even meant. 

She soon would.

Frustration. Obsession. Desire. Striving. These were new emotions for Vasquez. And she tried to embrace them as much as possible. Channeling those emotions, that energy, into Improving herself in every way, every day to make her desired outcome happen. She was going to work next to Agent Danvers no matter what. She was going to make that happen. She didn’t know how. She didn’t know when. Soon. Soon. Soon.

Checked her watch. Decided to push her body to the limit for the final sixty seconds of her run. Try to beat her best time. Racing against time. Racing against herself. Hurtling herself forward, top speed, past where she would have been if she’d done it the way that felt comfortable, past where she was used to being, and into the a space just a few inches ahead of her, a space that had eluded her on every previous run, a space just a few seconds ahead. The a space in time when runners are able to reach, they turn from ordinary athletes into Olympians, a space that when entered, can transform someone from head to toe, she was trying to run right into the future. Into a future version of herself. Into a version of herself that would fight at the side of Alex Danvers.

Feet pounding the pavement, sucking air into her lungs until they burned, her limbs flinging themselves forward with greater and greater speed and strength. And then suddenly - she was there. Locomotion had taken over. She had to surrender to it. No chance of stopping.  
Hurtling forward through time and space, completely out of control. Exhilarating and terrifying all at once. It was an out of body experience. Euphoric and unreal.

She turned the corner onto Olive street. Started slowing herself. Coming back into her body. Coming back to earth. Breathing hard and heavy, air like ice picks in her lungs, painfully burning on the inside and yet warm all over in pride. She stopped and hunched over. Hands on her knees, which were wobbly from emotion and exhaustion. Pressed the timer on her watch, still gasping for air. Saw she HAD bested her best time. Broke through a barrier. And she felt it. She literally felt what it was like to break through a barrier. She thought she’d broken through an athletic barrier. When in fact, she’d broken out of her life stream. 

She looked up. Felt instantly dizzy at having risen too fast. 

Or was it what she saw? For when she lifted her head, hands on her still jittery knees, body filled with adrenaline, eyes welling with the near tears that come from intensity, she looked up and saw Alex Danvers and Lena Luthor.

Both in DEO combat uniforms.

Dragging what looked to be Maggie Sawyer’s limp body to the DEO’s secret entrance. 

Agent Vasquez just started. Not knowing if she could believe her eyes. Which were as wide as saucers.

What happened next was even more bizarre. Lena left Alex with Maggie’s body and disappeared into the driver’s side of an Aston Martin. Alex got on her radio and within seconds the entrance opened and two agents took Maggie’s body inside. Then Alex got into the vehicle with Lena and the car raced around the corner. 

And just like that, Agent Vasquez was alone on the street. She’d just witnessed what looked like two teenagers staging a ring and run operation as they dropped their drunk friend off at their parents house for safekeeping.

Something inside Vasquez made her think that somehow she’s just caught a lucky break. Something ultra secret was transpiring. Lena Luthor was working with the DEO. This was huge. And Vasquez just got read in. Had she not pushed herself to the absolute limit, she would have missed these few moments. It made her feel that she 100% absolutely she deserved it. It being whatever would come at having this secret knowledge. She just knew that these moments would change her career. Her life. Her destiny.

Funny, isn’t it? How forcing yourself forward, even by just few seconds, can change absolutely everything. 

Dear Readers, I hate to break it to you, but sometimes running towards what you want is sometimes the absolute worst thing you can possibly do.

Vasquez had no idea.

\--

Let’s go back to Yaron for a moment. 

Literally one minute after Yaron watched Lena drive away in her Aston Martin, he got a text from Lena asking him to take her to L Corp. 

Yaron was supremely confused. The kind of confused that put him on high alert. Was this a real text? Was it a prank? Subterfuge? Espionage?

Yaron reached into the glove box and pulled out his semi automatic pistol. Who was texting him? It certainly wasn’t Lena. He’d. Just. Seen. Her. Drive. Away.

Staying in the town car was the worst position. He was a sitting duck. He aimed his pistol and exited the car as if anyone from any position might take a shot at him. He ducked low and texted “Lena” back a “thumbs up” emoji. His standard response. He knew this might happen one day. Knew that someone might try to kill him, put on his uniform, wait inside the car, wait for Lena to enter, and kidnap her within her own vehicle. He’s trained for this moment. He stood up, both hands on his weapon, aiming it before him, ready to shoot, and started checking inside and between cars, one by one, searching for the hidden killer.

The elevator doors opened and Lena and Alex, Present Day Lena and Present Day Alex, the ones who had just been urged to solve time travel, walked out. They saw Yaron with his weapon drawn, stalking the spaces between parked cars. His face jerked up and saw the girls. When his eyes landed on Lena, it was like seeing a ghost. 

Yaron checked all the sight lines. He could feel it in his bones. Something was amiss. Someone had just driven Lena’s car away, stolen it, someone disguised as Lena. Was this a trap? Was this an assassination attempt? He didn’t understand what was happening. Yaron’s eyes kept darting all around the garage as Lena and Alex neared. He wasn’t sure what to do. He looked ready for anything and prepared for nothing.

Lena could see right away he was in distress. She noticed the empty parking space - her empty parking space, her missing Aston Martin. Understood that her future self had taken the car to help future Alex transport Maggie to safety.

And that Yaron had seen her do it.

Lena put on her confident face, smiled widely. Looked at her empty parking space. Then looked back at Yaron. 

“Yes. Everything is fine,” said Lena. 

And that’s all she said. 

Her tone was both lighthearted and final. It was all she was going to say. Alex didn’t know what was happening. Didn’t know that the empty parking space was hers. Had no idea she even had a car. Didn’t even know she had a license. Wouldn’t know it until she’d come back from the future, to a few minutes before this very moment, which technically was the past. Alex just played along, figuring it was best to trust how Lena was choosing to handle her driver.

Yaron was familiar with her secrecy. He wasn’t going to ask any more questions. Lena looked confident, poised and relaxed. Then shot him a look that said she was more than ready to head to L Corp, which was the reason she was standing in the garage. 

This assertive, cocky, almost annoyed employer confidence was what made Yaron relax. Lena clearly had better things to think about and her trusted her 100%.

“Of course, Miss Luthor,” said Yaron, who put his gun in his waistband, opened the rear door and let the ladies inside.

And that was that. 

The three of them drove straight to L Corp. Lena needed to start solving time travel, and all the tools were at L Corp. Specifically, the Rxylyn isotope.

\---

Lena wasn’t the only one chasing that isotope. All the Luthor women were after it. And since there are only two women with the name Luthor, you know that I could only be talking about Lillian.

She had just tested the time travel device. And for the first time in his life, he was truly scared. For the vortex, the swirl that he’d spent his whole life loving, coveting, cultivating - had taken a beautiful creature and put a scar inside of it. Eddie watched as Terry pulled his horse out, the horse that was so docile was now kicking and stomping and spooked. Eddie sensed it wasn’t a temporary thing. Something about the horse and it’s personality, it reeked of permanence.

Lillian didn’t share those fears. Fear wasn’t something she felt. She never understood it. And when she saw it in others, it created a feeling of cool detachment. Labeled it a curiosity. A trait that apparently lesser mortals shared. A trait that more superior beings weren’t stamped with. Some people, some people like Lillian, were genetically gifted with greatness. And this was the deepest reason that Lillian felt it was her Divine duty to protect others from themselves and from aliens. They were too weak to do it for themselves. Noblesse Oblige. She had no idea that her lack of fear was sociopathy.

Lillian programmed the time machine herself. Eddie too stunned and afraid to do it himself or stop her. She was accustomed to taking over when mortals were paralyzed by their own emotions. And it gave her a feeling of supreme satisfaction to learn that aliens, too, were affected in this way. Lillian immediately made a calculation that she was probably superior to 99% of aliens, as well, and it made her feel even more fantastic, even more powerful, even more righteous.

The coordinates and time were set. She stepped into the vortex, pressed the remote control in her hand, and with a whoosh, was swallowed up in a pink swirl and disappeared.

Eddie had no idea when on earth she’d gone.


	14. Chapter 14

What a busy Saturday afternoon it was in National City! 

Lillian Luthor had just jumped into a time machine, disappearing to Rao only knows where…

Agent Vasquez just witnessed Alex and Lena dressed in DEO outfits...dropping an injured Maggie off at a secret DEO entrance…an event she was not supposed to witness...a moment of time the forces of fate had not written for her…

Kara Danvers aka Supergirl had just been advised by The Scavenger to pursue Lena Luthor...for math help, for romance…

Eddie Carmichael had just realized that time travel might create psychological damage, possibly permanent...

Terry “Candy Man” Green was tending to one of his prized horses, who was scared, spooked and possibly scarred…

And The Scavenger...having been rudely awakened by knocks on his door that were so powerful they penetrated right through the 3rd dimension and it’s his fourth dimension adjacent bedroom...walked back up four flights of stairs, put in a pair of ear plugs, crawled back into his sumptuous bed and fell back into a deep, deep sleep.

Hmmm, readers...have we covered all of it? Have we checked in with all of the players in this little tale? 

No?

Oh. That’s right. Lena and Alex. How could I forget them? The main reason this fic began. Our heroes. Right now, on this busy Saturday afternoon...there were two sets of them. 

Let’s check in with Future Lena and Future Alex first, shall we? They were in the Aston Martin, speeding away from the DEO, not knowing they’d just been spotted by Agent Vasquez. They headed right back to Lena’s place, parked the Aston Martin, looked at each other, knowing the mission had been accomplished. Future Lena pulled out the time travel device from the side pocket of her cargo pants. Held it up. With the flip of a switch, they would go back to the moment in time they’d hatched this mission. Instead, Lena paused. 

Alex looked worried. Why was Lena hesitating about sending them back to the future? They needed to get back and fast. Why was Lena hesitating? Time was of the essence. 

“Alex...there’s a chance that, if I press this...we never see each other again,” said Lena.

“Of course we’re going to see each other,” said Alex.  
Lena could tell Alex hadn’t worked out the dangers. Didn’t understand the consequences. 

“Alex, if one of our present day selves…”, Lena’s voice hitched. “If one of us dies...if one of our present day selves dies trying to find and stop Lillian...then we go back to a future where one of us is dead.”

Alex’s eyes blew wide open. Lena was speaking with scientific certainty. 

“Maybe both of us are dead,” said Lena. Her eyes spoke volumes. To flip the switch meant the unimaginable. They were possibly choosing their own death. Or a life there the other was already dead. If their present day selves aren’t able to complete the mission....then this moment meant goodbye. Forever.

“We make it. I promise you,” said Alex. 

She sounded certain. She sounded positive. In this moment Lena understood just how vital it had been for Supergirl to have Alex by her side. Alex gave Lena the strength and confidence to do what needed to be done.

“We don’t know with certainty,” said Lena. She was contemplating a new plan of action. Alex could see it in her eyes.

“We have to trust ourselves,” said Alex. Put her hand on Lena’s thigh, giving it a supportive squeeze. Lena flipped the top of the device open, flicked a red switch, and the two of them disappeared. 

They didn’t kiss goodbye.

\---

Usually when Kara was feeling uncertain, she would fly high over the rooftops, in a rarefied atmosphere, to be alone with her thoughts. As mentioned earlier Kara had visited The Scavenger, who’d just encouraged her to reach out to Lena for “math help.” And by math he meant…math. Kara was struggling with her Kryptonian star charts and Lena was one of the most qualified earthlings to assist in solving and double checking equations. I mean, there weren’t any Kryptonians Kara could call on to help. Sure, Clark is the only other living Kryptonian, but if he knew that Kara was trying to predict and chart the future, he would probably destroy all of her work. Trying to calculate and manipulate future outcomes was against everything Kryptonians believed in. It was...immoral. Kara knew Clark wouldn’t understand. Even though he’d grown up on Earth, he spend ages in the fortress of solitude learning Kryptonian culture and was a bit of an uptight fanatic when it came to moral high ground because of it. Kara had grown up on Krypton and was introduced to these ideals as a little girl, who was still able to play and make mistakes and be a bit of a rascal. So there was a grey area for her when it came to right and wrong. Especially after learning that her parents, in their pursuit of right, had done so much wrong. Things weren’t certain to her anymore. The only thing she was certain of was that Clark couldn’t know what she was up to.

Her only choice was Lena. 

Lena Luthor, her brilliant, brave and talented friend. Her gorgeous friend. Her sexy, sultry and all too human friend. Instead of flying around the city, Kara went for a walk. Using her legs. On sidewalks and through parks, on the Earth, just like how humans made their way through the world. She wanted to know what it was like. To be human. After the seven minutes with her mother, after immersing herself in Kryptonian math and science, after visiting The Scavenger on the fourth dimension, after battling an intergalactic warlord as Supergirl, after her date with Lena as Supergirl, Kara has almost forgotten what it was like to be human. So she walked and walked and walked, peering in shop windows, walking next to people through a mall, walking past a children’s baseball game, past the vendors on the Waterfront...over twenty miles. On their level. And yet not on their wavelength. Kara couldn’t remember what it was like to be human because she never was and never would be.

She returned to her loft. The star charts seemed to be her only hope. Her only chance. Her only cure. For the deep well of loneliness that she’d discovered inside of her. It had always been there. And Alex was always there to fill it with love. Yet after a short period of being romantic rivals, that hole seemed bigger and more defined than ever. If Alex even knew just how lonely it was to be the last of your entire race, she would have given Lena Luthor to Kara on a silver platter. And Kara didn’t have the words to ever explain it to Alex. How could a human language ever describe something so alien? How could a human language ever describe something that had never even happened on Earth? Even if she had the words, Kara was a Kryptonian at heart. She would have never put that burden on Alex. 

The. Charts. Were. The. Answer.

Kara spent the rest of the day in her loft, working and working and reworking the charts. Hoping she’d reach a place where she was certain in her calculations. It didn’t happen. She was plagued with doubt. Doubt that she was doing the calculations correctly. Doubt that she should even be doing this. And doubt that it was even her mother in the 7 minutes of Heaven room The Scavenger had let her use in the first place. 

Kara threw herself down on the couch in frustration and it shattered into pieces on the floor, crushing under the force of a body flung down with super-strength, resulting in a super mess. Kara just laid there. In the broken wood and torn upholstery and fluff. Staring at the ceiling. Contemplating. Realizing. She’d miscalculated her force and now she had to buy a new couch. If she could make this type of miscalculation...what did that say about her charts?

She needed to call Lena. She needed a friend. Supergirl needed help.

I’ve helped her countless times. I’ve saved her life! That giant L would have crushed her to death! The helicopter rescue? Make that helicopter-s plural! Two helicopter rescues! Falling from the L Corp balcony! Flying her away from an exploding Cadmus base! Why would she say no to me???

She wouldn’t say no. She’d do it in a heartbeat. 

And that’s what worried her. Because The Scavenger wasn’t just talking about math. He was talking about chemistry. The undeniable chemistry between Supergirl and Lena Luthor. And that was the whole point of doing these charts. To figure out someway to forget those feelings. The feelings for Alex’s girlfriend. 

Are they even girlfriends? They’ve just started hanging out. I was just on a date with her! I knew her longer. We were friends first. Kara started getting steamed. Lying on a pile of broken bits and splinters without feeling a single thing. The thought of Alex stealing Lena from her...it started to sting.

\---

Vasquez didn’t even put on her uniform. She went straight into the DEO and took a guess that, based on her slumped over body as she was being led inside the base, that Maggie was in the medical bay.

Bingo.

Played it casual. Verrrrryyyyy casual. Asked the med bay technicians what was up. They explained that Agent Danvers dropped off a NCPD officer for treatment and observation. She’d been possibly shot with what might be an extraterrestrial weapon. Vasquez nodded.

Vasquez peered through the glass windows a single bullet being removed from Maggie’s side. Maggie was hooked up to IV’s and receiving blood. She was awake. Another technician was hooking her up to a different IV drip. Pain relief, most likely. Maggie seemed to make a joke to the surgeon stitching her up. Vasquez could sense him chuckling under his surgical mask, his hands not stopping their careful stitch work.

Close up on Vasquez’s face as she stared at Maggie. Curiosity. Ambition. Desire.

A plan.

\---

Lillian had just stepped into the vortex. Had just disappeared. Eddie was left standing there. Terry had just led his horse outside, it was neighing and whinnying and stomping its feet. Freaked out. Eddie wondered, for the first time, if time travel created psychological scarring.

He looked at the empty space where Lillian had been standing. He had no idea where Lillian was or what she was doing... 

\---

It was a crisp, autumn New England day. A brisk breeze whipping over the Charles River brought with it an unseasonal chill. Lillian Luthor materialized right next to a tree. 

She shivered. Not from the chill. From knowing that had her calculations been off by ¼ of one percent, she would have materialized inside the tree and died instantly. She shrugged it off and began confidently heading toward the undergraduate residential buildings. 

Two students were sitting on a park bench and had watched the whole thing. Suddenly there was a woman where previously no woman had been. Neither of them said a word. Their brains immediately assumed the woman had been on the other side of the tree and walked into view while they were blinking. Or maybe they’d been staring at the river. There is something mesmerizing about looking at body of water. Something calming and relaxing, that it feels like nothing could go wrong. The mind often fills in the blanks with soothing information. With information that fits. With information that keeps you feeling comfortable. And keeps you from having your entire worldview shattered in an instant. Who can cope with suddenly realizing there is time travel? That at any moment people could appear where there was once no one? That would mean you were never alone. Never safe. There was no place you could be where someone else could not be. This is a deeply, deeply terrifying piece of information. They just sat there and continued staring at the river. And as Lillian passed, an ice cold chill ran through their bones. Their brains told them it was a breeze coming off the river.

It wasn’t.

Lillian marched on the bike path along Memorial Drive towards her destination. The breeze on the river picked up and started blowing hard on her face. She didn’t slow down. Nothing slowed her down. Cyclists pedaled past. Lillian didn’t move aside. Everyone swerving out of her path. She didn’t even notice things like this. It was a given. She passed the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Not knowing at that very moment, Lena was inside talking on a Skype call with Fiona, about Lillian and how she much she both doesn’t care about her life and yet is constantly meddling in it.

Oh, Lena. You have no idea.

Lillian was soon at 305 Memorial Drive, Maseeh Hall. An undergraduate residence. As she entered the lobby she was greeted with a wall of flyers advertising various campus events. She specifically looked at the dates. March 24. Right smack dab in the middle of the school semester. Perfect.

Now to confirm the year. 

There was a front desk and a student sitting behind it. Lillian marched right up to the pocket protector wearing nerd reading what was obviously an organic chemistry book and said to him in her most commanding yet buttery Luthor voice and said, “Excuse me, dear. What year is it?”

He looked up. This was without a doubt the strangest question he’d ever been asked in his whole life. And yet this six foot tall woman, who was wearing ten thousand dollars worth of clothes, not including the jewelry, her face flush from a river walk, her eyes cool and seductive, yet radiating a blinding intelligence, he was almost hypnotized by her presence.

“2011.” 

Excellent, thought Lillian.

“2011? That’s the room Sanjay Ratta is in?” asked Lillian, completely gas lighting the poor sophomore, who immediately scrambled through the student roster and gave the accurate room number to Lillian and felt stupid for having told her the year when it clearly wasn’t what she’d asked for...even though it was.

Lillian once again felt superior. Having so easily extracted information and then left dumbfounded and confused a student at one of the most challenging universities, where only certified Mensa level geniuses are accepted. She pressed the button on the elevator, entered, and as a student was racing towards, she coldly pressed the “close door” button and didn’t move one single muscle as the doors closed on the backpack wearing student, who watched in disbelief the level of callousness the woman in the elevator displayed.

Sanjay answered the knock on his door and was surprised to see Lillian. He was surprised that she looked...older. Maybe it was the weather. He invited her in right away, started cleaning sweatshirts and backpacks off the couch so she could have a place to sit. Practically swept coffee mugs with his arms into the sink to clear the counters. 

Lillian wasn’t interested. She expressed sympathy for his father’s recent diagnosis. Sanjay was shocked. His father had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two weeks earlier. They had only shared this information with immediate family members. Sanjay hadn’t yet told Lena. 

“How did you...did Lena?” Sanjay was stunned. He’d been having a hard time. Felt guilty about not telling Lena. Was falling behind in his studied. His apartment was a mess. His emotions were a mess. Tears started welling in his eyes. He’d been playing Mario Kart 7, the only way he could distract himself from the pain of the impending death of his father, his rock, his everything. Lillian’s arrival, the topic of his father’s health, the topic of his death, made him realize just how deep the pain he was so desperate to escape was.

“Lena doesn’t know,” assured Lillian. “And I’d like her not to know...what I’m going to do for you family.” 

Sanjay didn’t know what she meant. Yet his heart leapt in hope. Maybe an experimental treatment was available. If anyone knew how to beat glandular cancer, the type of cancer that spreads fast and kills quickly, it was a Luthor. They were on a completely different level. Of wealth. Of access. Sanjay started to sweat. His adrenal glands kicking in. This moment before him, he knew it was the only chance he had to help his father survive.

“Can you promise me we will keep this just between us, Sanjay?” Lillian’s question had a level of importance behind it that seemed like the fate of the entire world was behind it. Sanjay attributed that feeling to his father being his whole world.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“I promise,” he said. It was more than a promise. It was an oath. A pledge. A contract. The two of them could feel it being sealed. Sanjay felt a feeling of relief and release. He was putting his life and his father’s life in Lillian’s hands. And he was so glad to do this. 

“Thank you, Sanjay. Lena doesn’t appreciate it when I...meddle...in her life,” said Lillian.

Lillian’s eyes looked like pools of compassion and Sanjay allowed himself to drown in them. He didn’t look down. Good thing, too. For if his eyes had drifted down, he would have seen a smirk cross Lillian’s face, at once again being the most clever person in the room.

She got on the phone and set up a bank account, payable to Sanjay. Transferred fifty thousand dollars into it. Wrote down the number of the world’s best oncologist. Handed it to Sanjay.

“This account will be replenished automatically, as needed. Use it to take care of your family. In whatever way they need during this time,” said Lillian.

Sanjay couldn’t believe the generosity. Medical bills paid. Medical travel paid. Visiting costs, hospice...funeral costs if it should come to that...all paid for. Even his education. Without his father’s income, it had crossed Sanjay’s mind that he might have to drop out of MIT. Maybe attend a state school. Maybe have to drop his research projects to work part time, maybe full time, as he completed his studied. 

He realized that Lena’s gripes against her mother were all just the normal gripes a teenage girl might have against her step mother. Lillian was kind and generous. Lena was a great friend and good person, but when it came to Lillian, Lena was dead wrong. 

Sanjay’s father passed three months later. And he received the very best medical care the entire way, his family visiting as often as possible, hotel rooms and flights paid for, he was comfortable and even happy, right up until his dying days. Sanjay remained loyal to Lillian ever since.

Especially since that bank account never closed.

It kept replenishing. Sanjay dipping into it to pay tuition. Then getting more and more daring. Down payment for a sports car. A graduation gift to himself. He’d worked hard. He’d seen Lillian after the father died. Several times after. She made no mention of the magical account. Batted not one eyelash in acknowledgement of it. Of course, Lena never brought it up. It was a secret. Not a secret. A gift. An act of charity. One that perhaps Lillian had...forgotten about.

Not a chance, Sanjay. 

\---

Lillian walked out of Sanjay’s dorm. Looked over both of her shoulders. The coast was clear. Pressed the button on her transponder and disappeared.

\---

From Eddie’s perspective, It was as if just a few seconds had transpired. The horse was still bucking. The pink swirling vortex was dying down. And the suddenly increasing in intensity. Lillian appeared in it. She was back.

“Where did you go?” yelled Eddie. Lillian marched out of the vortex and toward the machine, ignoring Eddie and typing in the next set of coordinates. 

Eddie was done being ignored. He grabbed Lillian’s shoulder and twisted her towards him. Forcing her to acknowledge him. 

She looked at his hand. Half “how dare you” and half “how best to handle this situation.” She decided on kindness. The type of kindness that kills.

She cupped his face. He cursed himself for having it feel so good. To be held by her.

“Eddie, it works. Perfectly,” said Lillian. Her charms were working, however, he was clearly still angry. She needed to sell it. She kissed his forehead. He closed his eyes and melted into the praise. Not seeing how disgusted she was at having to be disingenuous. At having to pander. She reminded herself that she was a woman to do whatever was necessary. And so she decided that this was an act of strength and will, to manipulate this alien. 

“Dear, I’m in the middle of getting you what you need to complete your work. And time is of the essence,” continued Lillian.

“The isotope?” asked Eddie.

“Exactly,” replied Lillian. She turned and finished typing in the coordinates. Stepped into the vortex and disappeared. Staring at the empty space, Eddie didn’t know whether to admire her, curse her, or fall head over heels in love. 

\---

It was the day after the Battle at Green Stadium. 7am. Sanjay was in boxer shorts and a t shirt, had just woken up yet still in bed. A knock on his door. He answered it. It was Lillian Luthor. This was the second time in his life that she’d come knocking. She didn’t have to say a word. He knew she was coming to collect. His heart dropped down clear past the floor. She entered without either of them saying a word. Sanjay stepping aside like a foot soldier making room for his queen, even bowing a bit, in reverence and fear. This unexpected reckoning was deeply unsettling. He felt like a criminal at having grafted off that account for so long. He’d been living past his means with it, housekeeper, top of the line electronics and toys littered his bachelor pad. All paid for by Lillian, he realized. She stood right in the middle of his living room. Did Not’ sit down. Power position. His apartment suddenly felt like it was full of contraband. He knew he owed her. Big time.

“Sanjay, it’s good to see you,” said Lillian. He voice layered with double and triple levels of meaning. Sanjay couldn’t say it was good to see her back, because it was terrifying. His legs and arms filled with goosebumps. “I need a favor....”

\---

Sanjay went to work that day as a double agent. Feeding Lillian every last bit of L Corp information that he was working on.

Which just so happened to include the isotope that Lena had risked life and limb to collect. Sanjay realized that every single thing that Lena had ever said about her mother was true. Not only was it true, Lena had underplayed how sinister and long term Lillian’s plots and manipulations could be. He was a patsy. What were his choices? He’d been embezzling from Lillian for several years. The dollar amount at this point would certainly be a life sentence in a federal prison. And yet Lillian was asking him to commit the same crime against her daughter, his friend, his employer. Embezzling corporate secrets. If he didn’t do it, he would certainly go to jail. If he did do it, maybe he could remain free. 

\---

Yaron pulled into the L Corp underground parking structure, dropped Present day Lena and Present Day Alex off at the elevator bay. They took it straight to the lab. No talking. Both wondering how they would fare at figuring out time travel. Which to two humans, seemed impossible. Even though they’d just told themselves it was. By visiting from the future, knowing they would need to hear it from the horse's mouth, from their mouth, would need a face to face encounter to believe it. Those bullets from Eddie’s gun, he’d clearly materialized from the future, had a very real impact in the present. Maggie’s injuries. They believed it was possible. Figuring it out was a different story, altogether.

They entered the lab. There were two employees there. Lena breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t Sanjay working the Saturday shift. He was riding his new motorcycle up the coast. The motorcycle he’d purchased with funds from Lillian's account. Now that he was embezzling FOR her and not just FROM her, Sanjay felt entitled to a treat. Little did Lillian know that this little motorcycle trip was giving Lena the edge. Giving Lena a 36 hours to work on the isotope without having the results immediately funneled to Lillian. Lillian’s slush account was working against her. Oh, the irony.

Lena dismissed the two scientists with an air of generosity. The reason? Simply giving her hard working employees a bit of rest. She knew they were working round the clock. They were thrilled. She made sure to have them cancel anyone scheduled to work on Sunday, too. Praised them for their efforts. Was charming and affable. Introducing them to her “friend” Alex. They assumed Lena was dating someone and was showing off her facilities. Why not? That’s what you do when you’re a billionaire, they guessed. They packed up and left, thanking her profusely and assuring her they would be back at it on Monday.

Alex was somewhat shocked to see how easily Lena could slip into a persona. It was sexy and thrilling to know her girlfriend was capable of such deception. Deception was a necessary ingredient in the life of a DEO agent. Alex felt...proud. 

And yet something about it nagged at her. The employees briefed Lena where they’d gotten with the isotope. A number of complex mapping sequences were in process. Lena knew Lillian was getting the information from Sanjay. Knew that Lillian corrupted every pure thing that came into her path. Why would Sanjay be an exception. Knew that, based on progress the L Corp lab had already made...Lillian had almost had everything she needed from this isotope. And if the isotope was the key to time travel, then Lillian was on the cusp of cracking it. And who knows how she was going to use that information.

And then it hit her.

Of course, Lillian would go back to the moment when the Kryptonian jail landed on Earth. Using some type of nuclear weapon to destroy it before it even landed in the atmosphere. Then bouncing back to when Superman arrived. Bringing Kryptonite with her. Killing him as a baby. Smothering him. That would be Lillian’s style. She’d have no remorse. Seeing him as the reason her son would go insane, and be sent to prison to serve 37 life sentences. Then doing the same to Supergirl. Killing her best friend. 

Lena turned and looked at Alex. The expression on Lena’s face - she looked beyond terrified. 

Alex had not idea what was going on in her brain. Lena looked like she was staring straight into the future. And it was shattering. 

What Alex didn’t understand was that Lena was looking into the past. A past where all aliens were already killed by Lillian. Lena hadn’t figured out time travel, but she had figured out exactly how Lillian was going to use it.

“Lena what’s wrong?” asked Alex. 

Lena shook it off. Didn’t need both of them freaked out and distracted by worst case scenarios. 

“Let’s get to work,” said Lena, handing Alex a lab coat and goggles while hanging up her blue coat on the row of hooks against the wall. Alex knew better than to press her. They’d been given their assignment. It was time to get to work.

Alex was busy putting on her lab gear when Lena remembered the notebook. The one she’d slipped into her coat pocket. Off of Eddie’s counter. She wondered what was inside. Decided to wait on it. She’d already informed herself that the isotope was the key. 

Lena turned away from the coat and back to the row of equipment dedicated to unlocking the alien isotope’s secrets. 

Lena started setting up microscopes and opening computer windows. Brain going a mile a minute. Thinking. About time travel. About her step-mother. 

If Lillian beat her, if Lillian went back in time to kill all the aliens, then there was a chance that when Alex and her left this lab, they would be walking into a world where Lillian also makes sur that Supergirl and Superman are... eliminated. Lillian never left a job half finished. And with the Kryptonians wiped away from history, Lillian’s precious Lex…

That’s it. It’s all about Lex. It was the aliens who made her son insane. The aliens took her precious Lex from her. First his heart. His obsession with Clark Kent. Then his mind. The insanity. Then his body. 37 concurrent life sentences. Aliens were to blame for all of that. Of course they were. Lex was perfect. He had never done anything wrong ever in his life. That’s how Lillian saw things.

While she worked on this isotope, Lena wondered...if Lillian were to enact her plan, if Lillian were successful, she might be traveling back in time right now…

What did that mean for Lena in the present? What if the past was changing RIGHT NOW? Maybe my mind, my memories will start to change. Without me even knowing it? 

A shiver ran through Lena. Losing her mind was her worst fear. When you see a family member go through something horrific, something inside of you wonders if it’s in your DNA to experience that same thing. Lex’s insanity was not just a personal horror, it was a plague on mankind. 

Maybe my mind is already mapping to the new reality? Snapping in line with the new paradigm? Adapting to a paradigm of Lillian’s choosing? 

Lena’s heart was beating a mile a minute, her hands trembling as she worked precise adjustments on subatomic microscopes. Alex was texting the DEO, checking on Maggie. Blissfully unaware of the consequences that Lena was calculating, contemplating.

Maybe I wouldn’t even notice? Maybe I would she just keep merrily working? As the memories of my loved ones are erased from reality? Maybe it’s already happened?

Lena put her hands down on the lab table and started crying.

Her mother was cunning, baffling, dangerous. This seemed to be so much bigger than Lena. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Not around a lifetime of family pain. Not around the far reaching consequences of what she’d been tasked with. Not around anything at all. 

Alex finished her text and looked over. Saw Lena at the lab table, crying. Alex rushed over, got on her knees, took Lena’s hands in hers. 

They looked into each other’s eyes. Lena expected Alex’s signature words of encouragement, of love, of hope.

That’s not what happened.

“Lena...I need you to fucking pull it together.” said Alex. 

Lena’s spine straightened. Her focus returned instantly. She was shocked. Mortified at this rebuke. No one ever had to tell Lena Luthor to pull it together. It was a first. And it was just what she needed. Lena’s tears practically crawled back up into her eyes with shame. Focus and calm came back to her instantly. She started barking out orders to Alex with surgical precision.

“Get a pen and write down what I say,” said Lena. 

Alex did as commanded. Lena peered into the microscope and started dictating ideas, equations, formulas. Alex her dutiful scribe. Who luckily had enough of a science background to keep up. 

Mostly.

They worked all night. Cracking sequences. Making headway. Lena doing the bulk of the solving. Alex serving as a sounding board when Lena came across a theory that might help them into the next step. It was exhausting. The whole day had been exhausting. It was only 9:30pm at night.

Alex sat on the floor against the wall, being quiet while Lena peered into a subatomic microscope, taking copious notes on what she was seeing, thinking. Alex thought this might be a perfect time for a nap. Her eyes started to drift close when she got a DEO text. It was from J’onn. Alex snapped awake. He was calling her into the DEO, stat. 

“It’s work. They need me to come in,” said Alex. 

“Go,” said Lena. 

Alex was hoping Lena would say the exact opposite. Alex didn’t want to face J’onn. She could tell by how he phrased the text that HE needed to speak to HER. Sometimes J’onn felt like her boss. And sometimes he felt like her father. This time he felt like both. She felt like she was going to be in trouble and she felt like she might finally be getting an ally in this quest. Either way it was time to face the music. J’onn knew Alex brought Maggie to the DEO. But did he know it was Future Alex? Did he know Alex was fighting Lillian Luthor? With telling the DEO? Without telling him? Instead choosing to work with a Luthor? Someone was already injured. And Alex knew she was squarely to blame. This was going to be one of the toughest conversations she’s ever had. Was she going to tell J’onn everything? Something? Nothing? She didn’t know.

Alex left without kissing Lena goodbye. 

And we all know what happens when that goes down.

Alex swept out the door, feeling sick. Racing to the DEO, where her “real” family was. Lena knew time was of the essence. So why wasn’t Alex choosing to stay here with her to figure out time travel? Lena cursed herself for telling Alex to “go.” As soon as Alex left, Lena realized she needed help. Wasn’t this more important? Weren’t they supposed to trust each other? Trust themselves? Figure out time travel to save the world? Why was Alex going to the DEO?

Maggie.

The tip of Lena’s mechanical pencil tip broke. Flints of lead sprinkling across the page.

Lead. 

Lena’s mind snapped back in time, to the exact moment when she read in Lex’s notebooks that Superman couldn’t’ see through lead. She clicked the pencil head, pushing more lead out. Starting scribbling on her paper, back and forth, scratching the lead on the paper, making hundreds and hundreds of deep lead lines - coating the surface with lead. She did this same thing when she’d read about it. Wondering if Superman could see through this. Would this be enough to thwart his vision? Would this be enough lead to block his sight? Would this be enough to block Supergirl’s sight? 

Supergirl. The girl from Krypton. 

Lena scratching and scratching. Her mind was drifting as her hand made the repetitive motions, motions that soothed the anger, motions that stoked the anger. The anger that comes with abandonment. Alex. Lex. Lillian. Her biological mother. Fiona. Sanjay. 

She couldn’t help it. It was back. Abandoned. Alone. The weight of the world on her shoulders. Tasked with solving time travel. Tasked with stopping her mother. Which Lena rarely was able to do. Was she EVER able to beat her? So far the answer was no. She’d only thwarted her. Never stopped. Lillian was the unstoppable force. Lena was the immovable object. Lena could never not be the lonely Luthor girl. Could never move out of that name, that space, that role. Couldn’t save herself from her fate. 

Usually needed Supergirl’s to save her. Needed the help of an alien to stop the alien hating Luthor. Alien Isotope. Alien race. Alien technology. 

The notebook.

Stolen. From a criminal. From the crime scene. From Eddie’s house. Why didn’t Lena tell Alex? I’m a Luthor. And that’s what Luthor’s do. We hide information. Only sharing when necessary. As a last resort.

Lena got up and headed for her coat. Headed for the notebook. Now that she was alone. It was her property now. She wasn’t obligated to share it with anyone. Least of all Alex. Alex had chosen the FBI rather than help me at L Corp. (Remember reader, present day Lena doesn’t know Alex is a DEO agent.) I’m sure they are like family to her. Just like the employees of L Corp are my family. Filled with people who betray me despite me trying to everything in my power to be a good person. That’s the fate of being a Luthor, I guess.

Lena pulled out the little notebook and opened it. Vortex equations. She could tell by the drawings. The notations, however, were alien. A complete mystery to her. This notebook was of no help whatsoever.

I guess it doesn’t matter that I didn’t share it with Alex. And it’s not like I didn’t keep it from her on purpose. We were instructed to focus on the isotope. That’s what I did. It just so happens to be a time for a break. And it just so happens I decided to use this break by stretching my legs and taking a look at the notebook. And it just so happens that the perfect time to look at it was when you decided to leave and go to the FBI.

Lena was practicing what she might say to Alex, to justify her actions. 

I wasn’t keeping it from you.

Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Lena.

\---

Lillian returned into the pink vortex. Walked to Eddie. Looking positively triumphant.

“We should have everything we need shortly,” she said. She could feel, she somehow knew, that she’d been successful in corrupting Sanjay. She’d put him on the payroll. Used his father’s death, which she’d heard about from Lena years earlier, as leverage against a scared college student. Had turned him. She somehow knew that she’s created an L Corp mole and he was already working to give her the sequences to the isotope that Lena had risked life and limb to collect during the Battle at Green Stadium.

Eddie and her looked at each other. Both feeling an intense feeling of deja vu. It rocked their worlds. 

For the first time, Lillian looked extremely disturbed. Out of control.

She started pacing, to work it out. It was a Luthor technique. Sometimes motion of the body could stimulate higher thought.

“I was going back in time…” said Lillian, “to get the isotope information from L Corp…”

Eddie chimed in, desperate to solve this puzzle, too. “We needed the isotope to create a time machine.”

Lillian kept pacing. “I used used a time machine to do that.”

She used a time machine to create a time machine? It made no sense.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Turned and looked at Eddie.

“Am I from the future or the past?” asked Lillian. 

It was the first time she’d ever asked Eddie a question that wasn’t rhetorical. 

“You were going back in time to get what we needed for time travel, by using time travel,” said Eddie.

Lillian started to grasp the implications. 

“I’ve entered the paradox,” she said. 

Lillian paced, slowly, as she parceled out each thought. “I’ve been traveling in time and I’ve...lost the concept of time. My brain is mixing past and future. New memories are being written...I can’t keep up.” 

Lillian started to sweat. Desperate to use her powers of logic to place herself somewhere that made sense.

“I knew I had to go back in time to get the isotope...but I’d already done that.” She pointed to the time machine. “That working time machine is the proof.”

Eddie realized that this was the insanity he’d worried about moments earlier was now here. The singularity, once entered, scrambled the brain’s sense of time and place. He felt sick.

Lillian continued her speech. Mostly to herself. Lost in her own thoughts. Lost in an internal world where you didn’t know where you were, even thought you could look at any computer or clock and see for yourself. To have your brain reject outside information, to have no external confirmation of your reality...Lilian didn’t realize it but she was very close to becoming as insane as her son.

Logic. Logic was her only hope.

“When time travel is possible, the concept of time becomes meaningless,” Lillian spoke with an air of authority. As if she were giving a lecture to hundreds of the world’s most brilliant scientific minds, hanging on her every word, eager to drink from her cup of knowledge. “Present, future and past become meaningless and therefore you are everywhere at once. All possible outcomes are available and yet at any given time, only ONE course of action can be taken.”

She paced. 

“Think, Lillian, think!” The lecture had ended. She was shouting at herself. Eddie had never seen Lillian like this. It was terrifying. 

“There was a reason for this journey,” she was yelling at herself. Desperate.

Then it hit her.

Whenever she felt lost, she remembered her mission in life: Kill all aliens. 

She remembered that in order to do this, she’d need to bring back a nuclear weapon. They’d build a time machine that could bring humans back in time, but in order to bring back in time the weight of a nuclear weapon, she’d need the fully mapped isotope.

“I am NOT lost in the singularity. We’re right on track,” said Lillian.

She turned and looked at Eddie, who looked truly scared. Worse, he didn’t seem to believe Lillian’s conclusions. 

“Sanjay is feeding me the isotope information from L Corp,” she explained. “We’re almost there.” Lillian was so relieved. And yet she decided to write down in a notebook exactly where she was and what she was doing. In case time travel made her forget.

The Luthor Matriarch looked and sounded so certain, it was all but impossible not to get swept up in Lillian’s vortex. Eddie couldn’t face the truth. It was too terrifying. So he used the power of denial to avoid knowing what he’d just witnessed with his own eyes.

Lillian was lost in the singularity.

\---

It was 1am. Lena was making great headway. She’d single handedly finished mapping the isotope and put the results on a private server accessible by a code that only Lena knew. She was 90% there. How did the isotope facilitate time travel? Her equations grew closer and closer, like a Fibonacci sequence, spiraling in on itself, closer and closer and yet never making contact, never reaching the center point. She was so close and yet this last part seemed...like a mathematical impossibility.

Buzz. Buzz.

A text coming in on Lena’s phone. Obviously, it was Alex. Texting her. Checking in. Lena reached for her phone, feeling such relief, needing to be checked on, needing a friend, needing to share what she’d done and how far there still was to go. Just hearing the text come in made Lena’s heart soar. She was so grateful to not be alone. She felt pure love as she turned the phone over.

It wasn’t Alex. It was Supergirl.

“You up?”


	15. Chapter 15

Lena in the lab. Working hard to solve time travel. A text comes in on her phone. It’s Supergirl.

“You up?”

\--

Let’s back up a few minutes.

Before the text arrived, Lena had spent several hours crunching numbers, formulating algorithms, racking her brain, decoding sequences. All to solve time travel. Because Lillian was up to no good. Because there was a mole in L Corp working against her. Because she told herself to. 

Well, actually she told Alex. (In the restaurant.) Then Alex told her. (Also in the restaurant.) She didn’t believe Alex and she didn’t believe she told Alex. Then she showed up from the future and told herself that it was true and that’s when she believed. She’d seen herself with her own eyes and used the secret time travel code word. And she saw a man materialize in her apartment. (Eddie.) Then she saw him get shot and dematerialize. This was also proof. Time travel was real. And it was confusing.

The dematerialization. Eddie. Maybe that was a clue. Who was Eddie. A criminal, no doubt. Probably working with Mother. Mother was definitely involved. And this notebook, the one I stole from his apartment...it’s full of alien equations. He must have helped mother build this time machine. 

If they already have a time machine, why do they need information from L Corp? Maybe they haven’t made it yet? Maybe they have? Solving time travel was confusing. Figuring out Lillian’s plot was equally confusing. Yet the two were linked. 

Lena pulled out a notebook and started to write out what she’d deduced:

1\. Lillian and Eddie have created a time machine. They might be using it right now. (Author’s note: CORRECT.)

2\. Lillian wants to use the time machine to bring back a nuclear weapon to the moment when the Kryptonian Jail landed on Earth. She’s going to kill all those aliens with the nuke. (Author’s note: CORRECT)

3\. For some reason, they need the Rxylyn Isotope. (Author’s note: CORRECT. Right now the time machine can only transport something the size of a horse. In order to make a time machine that can transport the density of a nuke, they will need the isotope. Right now, Lillian’s time machine can only transport the weight of a horse. And even then, it’s not stable. It might be causing damage to the time traveler.)

4\. The Ryxlyn isotope is in my L Corp lab. (Author’s note: CORRECT. And Lena just finished mapping it, something her scientists had been working for weeks on and she just completed herself over several hours. Now that the isotope is mapped, it can be used in practical scientific applications. Like building a time machine. Which Lena currently doesn’t know how to build.)

5\. In order to get the isotope, Lillian somehow got to Sanjay and turned him into a mole. (Author’s Note: CORRECT. Lillian went several years back in time to when Sanjay and Lena were at MIT and gave Sanjay money to care for his sick father. Sanjay got addicted to this money supply and soon was indebted to Lillian, who then time traveled to just a few weeks ago and made Sanjay start delivering L Corp secrets to her. Which included Isotope information.)

6\. It seems that some sort of Alien science is involved. (Author’s Note: CORRECT. Eddie is an Alien. A Kryptonian. And Kryptonian science is most definitely the key to creating a time machine. No wonder those Kryptonians had such strong moral and religious convictions against manipulating time.) 

Lena stared at her notebook. She was so close, yet so far. How on Earth am I going to figure out time travel if the key to time travel is some type of alien science that I’ve never learned??

THAT’S the exact moment when Supergirl’s text arrived.

\---

“You up?” read the text from Supergirl.

Lena was surprised. To say the least. Supergirl was positively chaste when they had their date at the Scavenger’s house. Why the sudden change of tone? Why the...Lena checked the time on her phone...1AM booty call?

That’s what it was, wasn’t it? Lena had been around the block. Lena knew the ways of the world. And Lena had never ever, not once ever, received a “you up” text without the sender wanting some type of sexual interaction. “You up?” meant “You up for sex?” aka “are you up for having some sex with me?”

It just that...this wasn’t exactly...something seemed...off...it wasn’t Supergirl’s style. It wasn’t Supergirl’s tone.

It wasn’t Supergirl. 

That’s it. And if it wasn’t Supergirl, it had to be…

Lillian.

It was easy to spoof numbers. This was clearly a trap. Lillian is trying to gain access to the lab. Trying to get the isotope which Lena had just finished mapping it. The isotope was now ready to be used in practical scientific applications. It would make perfect sense for Lillian to try to swoop in at this very moment.

Lena stared at the text with suspicion. She wished Alex were here. Alex would know what to do. Alex could go meet “Supergirl” while Lena protected the lab. Instead, Alex left to go to her other job. Left Lena alone. Left Lena vulnerable. She had to make a decision. Sometimes the best defense...is a good offense.

“I’m up,” texted Lena.

“What are you doing up? It’s so late. Did I wake you? If I woke you I’m really sorry.” texted Supergirl.

Lena’s face broke out into a huge smile. It was definitely NOT Lillian. Lillian would never, could never, write anything so sweet, so self effacing. Heck, it contained an apology. That’s not Lillian. At all.

Readers - I know you want me to get to the smut. So I’m going to skip ahead. 

Picture this: Supergirl arrives. Asks Lena if they can talk in private. Lena takes Supergirl to the lab. Lena explains that she’s in the middle of a top secret project and she can’t provide many details. Supergirl explains she’s also working on a top secret project and can’t provide many details on. Wants Lena to check some calculations. Lena offers to help without reservation. Supergirl pulls out the charts. Lena notices the notations and drawings on Supergirl’s charts are similar to what Lena saw in Eddie’s notebook. Lena is so blown away by this stroke of luck that she’s almost back to thinking Supergirl is somehow actually part of Lillian’s plot. Maybe she’s not really Supergirl and is actually a hologram. Maybe I’ve lost my mind.

Lena is astounded at the chart’s scientific beauty and elegance. She wonders what she’s looking at. Supergirl doesn’t tell her. Instead, Supergirl gives Lena a mini class in Kryptonian math and physics. Lena catches on quick. So enthralled with this entirely new way of perceiving and calculating time and space that she forgets about losing her mind and starts guiding Supergirl through the sequences, coming up with ways to check each curve, each calculation. Everything checks out. Supergirl is profoundly relieved. Decides it needs one last double check. 

While Supergirl hunkers down to perform one last set of calculations, Lena steps back, mind racing, mind realizing…

And then suddenly…

“Supergirl, I need to use the ladies room. I’ll be right back.” Lena takes her purse with her. Takes the notebook, too.

Inside the ladies room, Lena pulls out a tube of red lipstick. And just like Alex did a few weeks ago, she starts using it as her writing implement. She’s drawing equations on the bathroom mirrors. Equations with earth math AND Kryptonian math. She’s consulting the notebook as she writes out in bright red everything in her brain. One mirror filled, then on to the next mirror and within minutes all of the mirrors are filled with everything she needs to create time travel. 

She’s solved it. 

She stands alone. In the bathroom, staring at the lipstick covered mirrors. Almost shaking. Her mouth dropping open. Her eyes blown wide.

She walks back into the lab. Supergirl looks like a child working at a table, scribbling and scribbling. Lena sits at her desk. Pulls out the prototype that she’s created, a small black box with a fingerprint activation pad. Plugs it into the computer. Codes. Updates the box. And suddenly, her time travel device is complete. Just like that. With little fanfare. Without anyone around to celebrate. 

Of course, she needs to test it. She needs proof. I need to know that I time traveled and it wasn’t just a trick of my mind. I’ve spent my whole life dreaming about time travel. I know the only way to test the device is to to initialize something that would create a sequence of events that are so powerful, so definite, that only by traveling back in time could they be erased.

Lena thinks for a moment. What could that be? The clock on the wall read 1:47AM. Lena looked around the room at what was available to her. Computers. Lab equipment. Supergirl.

Supergirl.

Lena walked over to her. Supergirl has just finished her quadruple checking her charts. They were accurate. They’d been accurate the whole time. She’d remembered everything her mother said. She’s remembered all that she’s learned on Krypton. She’s done the charts correctly. It was certain, 100%, without a doubt that Lena Luthor was most definitely NOT Kara Zor-El’s romantic soulmate and she no longer had to compete with her sister anymore as romantic rivals and no longer had to worry about having complicated feelings for her best friend or listen to what The Scavenger had to say about their undeniable chemistry because this chart said for sure that Kara and Lena were never ever going to be together.

Lena put her hand on Supergirl’s shoulder. Supergirl turned and looked at Lena, bright eyed, relieved, elated.

And that’s when Lena put both of her hands on Supergirl’s face and kissed her. Pressing their lips together, softly at first, then with purpose and passion. She’d taken Supergirl completely by surprise. And suddenly, without thinking, Supergirl wrapped her arms around Lena and kissed her back. They were kissing. Sweet and deep. Lena was stunned at what a good kisser Supergirl was. She didn’t know who’d opened their mouth first. Their tongues tasting each other, taking their breath away. The kiss seemed to go on forever. Because it was so unexpected. Because it was a first kiss. Because they were friends. Because it was taboo. Because neither of them pulled away, not even to take a breath, and instead they both melted into it. 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lena’s phone alarm went off. She’d set it for exactly one minute. Lena pulled away. Realized she was in Supergirl’s arms, floating one inch off the ground. Supergirl floated them down. Lena looked at her lipstick, all over Supergirl’s lips. 

Supergirl looked nervous. She raised her hands to her mouth to wipe it.

“No. Don’t,” said Lena, who was backing up. Not taking her eyes off Supergirl. She reached for the device, put her fingerprint on it and turned it on. 

Suddenly, Supergirl was back at her charts. Working out the math.Lena looked at the clock. 1:47am.  
Lena walked over to Supergirl. Just to double check. She walked over to Supergirl. Put her hand on Supergirl’s shoulder. Just like the first time. Supergirl turned and looked at Lena, bright eyed, relieved, elated. Just like she had before. Lena put both of her hands on Supergirl’s face. Not to kiss it. But to inspect it. To look for any trace of her lipstick on the skin. To see any trace of their kiss in Supergirl’s eyes. 

Not one trace. Of any of it. Anywhere.

Lena had gone back in time. She was a FUCKING TIME TRAVELER!

Lena was beyond elated. So elated, in fact, that she leaned over and planted another kiss right on Supergirl’s lips. This time not to test time travel, but to celebrate time travel. And just like before, the kiss turned deep and long and sensual and they ended up floating an inch above the ground. Making out, deep kissing, pulling away and going back in, necking, tasting, furious kisses, sweet kisses, hands running through hair. Lena had no idea kissing Supergirl would feel this way. She pulled away and saw the clock. 2:11AM. She pushed herself off Supergirl and fell one inch to the ground. Which was so discombobulating that Lena acted as if she’d fallen a foot.

She backed up to the time machine. Looked at Supergirl’s eyes. They were confused and hungry. For the first time, Lena saw an edge to Supergirl that she’s never seen before. (Reader’s you may have seen some of this edge in the Red K incidents. The ones that happened before Lena moved to National City. Recall that Red K brought out the most secret parts of Kara. The feelings of lust and carnal passion for Lena Luthor were no longer secret. They were written all over Supergirl’s face. In her eyes. Lena had felt some of this during the kiss, but once Lena pulled away, suddenly, abruptly, ending it too soon… It was clear that Supergirl wanted more. Was worked up and needing satisfaction. Looked confident that she would be getting that satisfaction. 

Lena was positively dazzled by this look. Lena though she knew everything about Supergirl. In this moment, in this single moment, she saw something in Supergirl that no one else had. It was powerful and erotic and Lena felt like, in that moment, she would have given Supergirl absolutely everything.

Instead she pressed her finger against the time machine.

Looked at the clock. 1:47AM.

Looked across the room. Supergirl happily working at her charts. For the third time. Lena walked over to her. Supergirl looks up. No lipstick. No clue. That she’d made out with Lena Luthor. 

Twice.

Lena’s heart was pounding out of her chest. She looks at Supergirl like a crazed maniac.

“Are you okay?” asks Supergirl.

Lena starts laughing. Never having felt more accomplished. Never feeling more alone. Supergirl stands up, looking very very concerned. “Lena, you don’t look well,” says Supergirl, putting her hands on Lena’s upper arms.

Lena feels the warmth of Supergirl’s hands. Starts laughing even more. She’d just felt these hands in her hair, around her torso, holding her in the air as they kissed. Tears start to form in Lena’s eyes. Tears just from the intensity. Of having just accomplished the impossible. At having created the world’s most scientific breakthrough. At fulfilling a childhood dream. At cheating on Alex. At cheating space and time. At kissing Supergirl. SUPERGIRL. At the LIES she was telling Supergirl right now. Lena knew they had kissed. They HAD kissed. And everyone in the room knew it except Supergirl. (Author’s note: granted there were only two people in the room, but that doesn’t change the facts.) Lena felt like a fraud and a thief and a genius and a rogue and a...and a….and a Luthor.

Lena stumbled back, eyes growing wide, wider, widest. Supergirl thought maybe Lena was suffering some type of cardiac arrest. And she wasn’t exactly wrong because Lena was connecting the dots...of how chasing Lillian would make her into Lillian...of how pursuing passions was exactly what led Lex to lose his mind. And it was all happening to Lena. Right now. It was breaking her heart. Wanting a time machine was ONLY to escape the fate of being a Luthor. And now the pursuit of a time machine seemed to be bringing her closer and closer toward that very thing. 

Lena looked around the room, scanning, thinking, plotting. Maybe I could go back in time to 1:46AM and I wouldn’t even remember any of this…She jerked out of Supergirl’s grip. 

Supergirl looked at Lena. She didn’t look the same. Something about Lena looked...darker. Lost. Strange. Lena looked back at Supergirl. Supergirl looked bright and happy and concerned and ready to help. Supergirl looked exactly the same. Not a hint of the other Supergirl, the one that Lena had kissed. The Supergirl that was hungry for sex and pleasure and the kind of intimate connection and fulfillment only felt through the mutual sharing of flesh. Lena scanned over and over to see even the faintest trace of it. 

None. None. None.

“Lena…?” said Supergirl. Not knowing what to do. Yet knowing something was wrong and something needed to be done.

“I...I…” Lena knew she had to think fast. Luckily, thinking fast was what Lena did best. “I haven’t eaten in several hours. My blood sugar…I need to eat.”

This made perfect sense to Supergirl. Food was like, priority one. She’d seen this similar type of thing happen to Alex during all night study sessions and long hours at the DEO. Without food, Alex became dizzy and cranky.

“Let’s go get something to eat!” said Supergirl. 

Lena started packing up her clothes. Realized the lipstick on the bathroom mirrors would need to be cleaned before anyone saw it. Realized the isotope mapping would need to be protected from Lillian and her spies. Realized that she’d traveled back in time. But not forward in time. There was more testing to do....

“There’s a great diner that’s open all night and they have the most delicious pancakes. There’s also another diner that bakes and ices their danishes. But maybe a burger is better and I’ve had those, too and they are super…” Supergirl was waxing on and on about the various eating establishments that could be frequented at 2am. All the while, Lena was thinking about the future.

If I got to the future, I need to go somewhere where no one will recognize me. But I’m famous. Everyone will recognize me. What if I go somewhere in the future and I’m asked things that I should know because they think I’ve lived through certain events. They won’t know that I’ve time jumped and have no knowledge of such things. And they won’t believe me if I say I’m from the past and used a time machine. I’ll simply look like I’m Lena Luthor and I have no reliable memories. Maybe they’ll hospitalize me. Maybe they’ll think I’m going insane. I can’t let that happen.

I’ve got to pick somewhere safe. Somewhere in the future with someone who will recognize me but not know me. With someone who won’t feel like I owe them any answers. And who will keep my secrets if I do decide to share. Somewhere I won’t run into myself. 

Lena realized the perfect place to go. 

She pulled out her phone and sent two texts. One to Jess. The other to Alex. What did those texts say? Perhaps I will tell you later. Right now there is something more important happening. Lena puts away her phone. Picks up the time machine. 

And while Supergirl was pacing the lab, extolling the virtues of various National City diner selections of waffles and french fries and hashbrowns and milkshakes…

Lena Lena set her time machine for the future. Checked the time. 1:50AM. Put her finger on the activation pad and disappeared.

Readers...have any of you guessed where Lena went? 

\----

Suddenly, Lena was standing in front of a pair of lavish double doors.

She’d done it. She was no longer in the lab. She was here. In the Factory Hotel. She looked at her watch. Waited until it was 3pm on the dot. Then knocked.

After a moment, the doors opened wide.

The woman was about ten years older than Lena. Blonde hair. Curls. Resting on her shoulders. Full face. Round face. Beautiful round eyes to match. She was pretty. In a midwestern way. 

Lena tried to keep her face blank. Somehow this was not what she was expecting. 

The woman extended her hand. 

“Lena. I’m Alice Champion.”


	16. Chapter 16

“Tell me about how you have phone sex.” said Alice.

Lena sat on the couch opposite Alice. Looking surprised. Looking sullen. Looking busted. Looking alive. Looking curious. Lena had been expecting a lecture on monogamy. 

Alice decided to push. Lena obviously needing it.

“Lena, you came here to talk about sex. So start talking about sex.” Alice tried to keep her face neutral, but her tone was layered. It was a suggestion, a command and a dare. Alice felt a surge of heat well up inside of her. She was sitting across from a Luthor. In a battle of skill, of wits, of stamina. And she was winning. 

She expected Lena to leave after the first five minutes. She'd mentally prepared for that outcome. It would have been ludicrous to imagine that any Luthor...Lex, Lillian or Lena...would stay in a room with Alice Champion, a complete unknown to them, for more than five minutes. And yet here they were, sitting across from each other for at least a half an hour, talking the entire time. Alice wanted to look at her watch. To see exactly how many minutes had passed. The way an elite runner would check their time as they passed mile markers. Of course, checking her watch was an absolute no no. I mean, can you imagine a therapist checking her watch during a session? No one would ever return. And yet the urge remained. Alice remembered a decorative clock was on the end table. It would be so easy for her to just glance at it quickly. Lena would see. Lena would leave. Maybe forever. Alice put all of her energy and will power into keeping her eyes trained on Lena. Making sure she didn’t look away for any reason.

Lena kept her eyes on Alice, too. And as Alice sat there and watched...she saw all of Lena’s emotions...disappear. The only thing Alice could detect from Lena’s eyes was assessment. All the warmth and connection between them vanished. Lena was suddenly an island of one. Self sufficient in every way. A woman of vast wealth and power. Of unimaginable intellect and suffering and means. A woman contemplating her next move and without the need of outside counsel. All the warmth and confidence and bravado that had welled up in Alice suddenly turned into doubt and insecurity.

It was as if Lena wasn’t even moving. Wasn’t even blinking. A woman so totally in control that her entire body was a statue, a mountain, something with an such mass it radiated an unearthly gravity. The atmosphere was surreal. A strange hotel room. A strange woman. A strange time of day. A strange conversation.

And not just any woman. A Luthor.

Luthors were a dangerous lot. Alice suddenly realized that she might be in grave danger - mortal danger - simply from being in proximity to a Luthor. And to make matters worse, this meeting wasn’t about chance proximity. She’d been summoned. She’d been chosen. Maybe she'd been chosen precisely because she was an unknown, a person "less than." Alice realized that maybe her delight in being chosen was folly. Maybe being chosen by a Luthor was the worst thing that could happen to a person. Alice’s eyes started to water. Her knees wanted to knock. Why wasn’t Lena saying anything? What was she thinking about? What was her real purpose for this meeting? Alice realized, completely and fully realized, that the real reason for this visit was being hidden from her. And the doubt and insecurity inside of her turned into a bolt of fear. A bolt that would have made anyone visibly shiver. Alice didn’t move. Not one bit. She’d trained herself well.

Suddenly it felt like she was sitting in a cage opposite a black panther. Something incredibly beautiful and dangerous and powerful and capable of killing someone with one well-placed bite on the jugular. The two women stared at each other like this for what seemed ages, although it was only a few seconds.

Then Lena cracked a smile, albeit one with her lips still pressed firmly together. This unnerved Alice so much that it felt like a bowling ball had been placed in her stomach. Maybe she should cancel this session right now. Refund the money and walk away. Maybe that would protect her. 

“Why are you smiling?” asked Alice. Her goal of pushing Lena out of her comfort zone had lasted less than five seconds. Lena had won this round. Handily.

“Do you believe in time travel?” asked Lena.

Alice stared at Lena. They were back at square one. Playing games. It suddenly felt like a very dangerous game.

“This is the second time you’ve brought that topic up,” replied Alice.

“It interests me,” said Lena.

“Sex doesn’t?” asked Alice.

Lena chuckled. It was clear to Alice that Lena was laughing about a joke that hadn’t been told. Alice had never felt closer to a client and at the same time...more on the outside. Something about Lena felt so real and vulnerable and at the same time...mysterious and impenetrable. Safe. And yet…

“I’ll ask again. Do you believe in time travel?” Lena’s tone was calculated nonchalance. 

Obviously, this question was about something else entirely, realized Alice. Maybe it was a test? Maybe this was the real interview portion of the session. Maybe Alice had pressed too much. Lena was back to interviewing her. Asking one of those interview questions like they do at multinational tech companies. Brain teasers designed to give insight into someone’s thought processes, logic, creativity and bias. Alice had read an article on this recently. 

“Do you?” said Alice.

“I asked you first,” said Lena. 

This was her chance. Her chance to get out of this situation. Alice had half a mind to declare I’m not something you give money to and spits out answers like a vending machine. That’s not how it works and it’s not how I work and instead of doing this Alice said something that surprised them both.

“This is the second time you were going to talk about sex...and changed the topic to time travel,” said Alice. 

It was true. And they both realized it at the same time. And the way Alice had said it, extemporaneously, without judgement, sharing her thoughts and insights with Lena as they occurred...it proved to both Lena and Alice that there was a sense of trust between them. And just like that, they were suddenly on equal footing. Lena seemed to relax. And Alice seemed to be the therapist again and Lena her client. Alice’s stomach did a little flip. How could Lena Luthor inspire so many feelings in someone so quickly? Alice would have to journal about this later.

Lena didn’t know how to respond. What kind of client pivots to a discussion of time travel every time sex is brought up? The answer, of course, was one who had a time travel device in her bag, who arrived her via time travel. One who needed to get back to the present, back to her lab, back to Alex. To root out the L Corp mole. To protect the isotope sequence from falling into the wrong hands. To prevent her mother from whatever evil plot she was in the middle of hatching, usually one that involved purging earth of Aliens, which included her friend Supergirl. And Maggie had just been shot, that was a whole thing.

“Where did you go?” asked Alice.

Lena thought for a moment. It was also the response of someone who didn't want to talk about sex. Not in real way. Not in a way that might actually reveal something about her true nature.

“I’ll be honest," said Lena. "I was only planning on being here for about five minutes.” And it was true. Her plan was to travel to the future, to a place where no one would see her and meet with a person she’d never known in the present. That was the safest way to try the future forward capabilities of her time travel device. And the second half of the experiment still needed to be carried out. The return trip.

And yet there was something about sitting in this strange hotel room with Alice Champion that had a seductive pull over Lena. It wasn’t like how it was with Fiona. Not at all. And yet Lena wanted to stay and talk. Something deep in Lena’s heart desperately wanted to talk to someone. Now more than ever.

“I’m glad you decided to stay,” said Alice. “It’s very brave.” 

Lena’s heart filled with such warmth that she felt embarrassed and vulnerable. She realized that these were the feelings she was running from.

“Do you?” asked Lena.

“Do I what?” replied Alice.

“Do you believe in time travel?” It was the third time Lena had asked. And yet this time, there was real emotion behind it. A vulnerability, a desperation, to connect, to have answers, to know the truth, to be healed, to be free.

Alice was taken aback. And taken back to a place of such compassion for Lena. The real Lena. Who was suddenly sitting across from Alice. The girl who grew up a Luthor, without a mother and with a mother more interested in protecting the world from Aliens than protecting the bastard daughter not of her womb. The girl with a brother who she idolized and who was her only ally, and who was now in the most secure prison facility on Earth for unimaginable crimes. The girl with in the dynasty created and curated by a ghost father whose seed seemed to both ravage and heal the world in equal measure. Lena’s sole mission in life was to tip the scales toward good. It was too much to ask of any one person. The entirety of earth was wrestling with the question of Aliens among us and how to solve it. Just because Alice personally felt that Lillian Luthor was right in believing that Aliens could one day control and perhaps enslave the human race, that had nothing to do with her professional responsibility to help her clients. Alice doubled down in her commitment. During her time with Lena, she was going to give whatever she in the quest for self healing and actualization.

“I do believe in time travel,” replied Alice.

Lena’s eyes blew open a bit. Surprise. Her lower lip opened just a bit. Lena wanted more.

“I take clients to the past every day,” continued Alice. Lena took this in. Deeply.

“And the future?” asked Lena.

“There, too,” said Alice.

Lena closed her lips and contemplated. This time she didn’t put up wall. She wondered about when she should get back. She knew it would only take a few seconds. Put her hands in her purse, enter the time and place coordinates and she would disappear. This whole conversation would disappear. Why was Lena being so secretive and guarded? Knowing that she could simply travel back in time and this would all be erased? Lena couldn't seem to stop herself from extreme secret keeping. She dug deep.

“What if I go to the past...and I don’t come back?” asked Lena. Lena was speaking more plainly than Alice Champion could have ever imagined.

“I’ve never seen that happen,” chuckled Alice.

Lena put on a bemused face. That’s because I’m the first person on the planet to solve the time travel paradox! Lena wanted to scream it. Lena was bursting with pride. She wanted to share it with someone. She knew the person she was supposed to share this accomplishment with was Alex, but would they celebrate? No. Because as soon as Alex learns that I solved time travel, we’ll be onto stopping Lillian. Lillian’s plot. Lillian’s agenda. Therapy was the one place that Lillian wasn't supposed to have any influence over and yet it was like she was right here in the room, ruining things.

“Whenever I do something good...Lillian somehow takes it away from me,” said Lena.

Alice heard a lifetime of hurt and frustration. Sex. Time Travel. Mother issues. Lena Luthor was without a doubt the most interesting, complicated, brilliant and wounded client Alice had ever seen. The warmth radiated right off of Alice and enveloped Lena. Lena felt it. She instantly felt less alone. And she felt...loved? Was that the word?

“Lena, let’s go back in time together,” offered Alice.

Lena looked up. A lump in her throat.

It was an offer she couldn’t refuse.


	17. Alice in Luthorland

“Go back in time…?” said Lena. 

“Yes,” said Alice.

Alice didn’t mean literally back in time. How could she? And yet, she spoke with such conviction. As if she really and truly accompanied patients backwards in time. Lena was beyond intrigued.

“You mean you’ve helped people remember things,” said Lena.

“Everyone knows they can change the future,” said Alice. “Few people know they can also change the past.”

“You believe that?” said Lena.

“Not only do I believe it…” said Alice, “I do it for a living.” 

Alice let that hang in the air for a moment. It was clear this conversation held weight. The way Lena was looking at her. Alice knew the importance of giving clients time to sit in their thoughts, to sit with their feelings. Coaxing, guiding, allowing. It was a delicate balance. Especially with Lena. Alice sat and observed.

Lena seemed to be wrestling with something. Weighing outcomes, possibilities. With her jet black hair and clear eyes and complicated soul, Lena was slick. Like oil. A slippery onyx. Refined. Capturing light and turning it into dazzling and dark patterns. Seen by many as stain, something that leaks and ruins, a contamination of the enviornment. Others recognizing it as pure fuel. Something to dig deep for. Primordial. Thick and viscous and powerful. And not to be touched.

A wave of compassion flowed over Alice. She reached out. She wanted to touch Lena.

“Do you want to time travel with me?” asked Alice.

Lena tried to keep a straight face.

“Do YOU want to time travel with ME?” said Lena. Her tone suddenly regal. Imperious. Letting Alice know...that was the real question.

Alice didn’t hesitate. “I’m willing to take the journey if you are.”

Alice was talking as if she understood that, in Lena’s purse, there was an actual, honest to goodness time machine. Naturally, Lena wasn’t going to use it with Alice. I mean, honestly. Still, it was funny. Lena smiled. A smile that started as pleasure, then humor...then changing to something darker. Something vast and lonely. Alice’s version of time travel was clearly some pedestrian memory game. Not “real” time travel. As Lena’s smile faded, Alice saw the the light dance across the oil, shine, swirl and then disappear. Alice gulped. Her Adam’s apple hitching up and down. Lena saw. Alice saw Lena see. They sat in silence again.

Sometimes being the smartest person in the room was lonely and sometimes that loneliness, that vast gulf between her and others, was just something to be expected. Still, Lena was intrigued and wanted to hear a bit more. The idea of having someone to time travel with was...well, the idea was downright wonderful. Ever since she was a child, dreaming of time travel, well of course Lena had imagined having a friend to do it with. She just never could picture who that person might be. Time travel seemed impossible. A fantasy. And the idea of having someone to time travel with? Even more impossible. And since she wouldn’t be able to have that, ever, then talking with Alice about time travel, about her version of time travel, even if just for a few more moments, would be the next best thing.

Even if Alice would never understand the realness of the conversation, even if Alice could never and would never understand the truth that Lena so desperately wanted to share - and she did desperately want to share - Lena realized this suddenly. From just sitting in her feelings. Alice was right there. Ready and willing. To listen. To hear everything. An urge appeared in Lena’s heart. From out of nowhere. To share the truth. Her truth. Her self. Her discoveries. Her secrets.

Lena was shocked to realize just how much she wanted to share with Alice. Lena’s heart was bursting with a lifetime of secrets. Secret doings. Secret dealings. Secret feelings. When Fiona died... Lena felt as if every word she'd ever uttered to Fiona...like dense mist, they all migrated back to Lena, returning home to that dark harbor. Returning to source. Maybe Fiona hadn’t helped Lena purge those events, those emotions. Maybe they were just words that Fiona held on to for as long as she could. Maybe Alice could do the same. There were times when Lena would have done anything to get these feelings out of her body. Lighten her burden. This was one of those times.

Lena couldn’t tell Alice all of this. Lena couldn’t tell Alice any of this. Lena felt like she did when she was 11, at sleepovers, crushing on friends. Not able to share those thoughts, those feelings. And yet not wanting to leave. Wanting to be as close as she could.

Lena wanted to keep talking about time travel with Alice. Even if it was just for one single minute more.

“Where should we go?” asked Lena.

Alice paused for a moment. The was something so pure, so vulnerable about Lena’s question. Something so lost and so needy and so hopeful and so guarded to Lena’s tone. And at the same time, it was clear that Lena did not believe anyone could change the past. Not her past. Alice wasn’t going to give up on her. Alice knew that if one had enough determination and courage, anyone could change the past. Even Lena Luthor.

Being more informal seemed to relax Lena. It wasn’t how Alice normally worked. Being professional, keeping a distance, keeping her personality out of the session - that’s what paid the bills. Should have guessed that working with a Luthor wouldn’t be business as usual, thought Alice, who decided to loosen up. 

“Well, I’m really curious about this phone sex,” said Alice. “Can we start there? Please?”

And with that...Lena broke into a smile so big, so pure, so devilish and delighted, that Alice couldn’t help but break into one of her own. And just like that they bonded. Two women, two girls, being naughty. It felt like a sleepover. Except they were adults. Two healthy adult women. Alone. In a hotel room.

“Miss Champion…” said Lena, “I never would have suspected.” Lena cocked an eyebrow, milking the moment. Implying Alice’s interests were more purient than therapeutic. It was a quality moment of flirtation. Of turning the tables. Of play. Even Alice enjoyed it. They were on the same wavelength. Finally. But Alice wasn't here to bond with Lena. She was here to gain trust and guide.

“You’ve been avoiding talking about it for so long I’m beyond curious what happened,” said Alice. Upping the ante. Positively daring Lena to not just divulge but to deliver. And just like that, Alice took back all the power. Teasing Lena about being withholding, guarded, secretive. Daring Lena to finish what she started. 

Lena’s eyes flashed all of this and more. Telegraphing to Alice, 'I see what you did there.' 

Alice dropped the neutral affect and said back with her eyes, 'I know. I did it on purpose.'

Something deep inside of her suddenly wanted to thwart Alice. To evade and avoid capture. Chess. And on the other hand, Lena was turned on. Games. This was NOT how Fiona worked. Were they in a battle of wits? Or were they flirting? They were. Weren’t they? I mean, she just begged me to tell her about a night of sex. What kind of therapy is this?

Maybe it’s not therapy.

Maybe she’s someone my mother planted. Paid. It wouldn't be the first time. Lillian had turned one of my assistants against me. And Sanjay. And cracked into L Corp’s servers. I told Jessica to not put this in the computer system. And yet...Jessica had typed up that list of therapists for me to peruse. What if Lillian had a keystroke monitoring virus on Jess’s computer? Lillian could have a copy of that. Could have used that somehow to get to Alice. Who knows how Lillian does what she does? The only thing I know is that no matter how far fetched or devious the idea is, Lillian is sure to have already surpassed it. A simple review of the facts points to Lillian's tampering. Alice has been talking with me about time travel. Begging me to go on a time travel journey with her. Maybe she wants me to tell her about the device? And then what happens? Lillian and her goons show up, taze me, take the machine, throw me off the balcony? Then mother takes the device and uses it to kill all the aliens? Kill Supergirl? No. I won't let that happen.

Lena turned pale. Stood up from the couch.

“Lena, what’s wrong?” said Alice.

“Thank you for your time,” said Lena. Suddenly wishing she hadn’t used that word. Time. The word was so loaded now.

Alice looked at the clock. “There’s still time.” There it was again. Anxiety started to flood into Lena.

“I must be going,” said Lena, smoothing her coat and giving Alice a bit of side eye as she did it. And she did have to go. Whether Lillian's plot was happening now or in the past, Lillian needed to be stopped. That's the whole purpose of this time machine. Lena had spent far too much time here. Time! Lena need to get back. Finishing what she started mean stopping Lillian. Not talking about sex with this, this stranger named Alice. If that even was her name.

“What happened? What made you uncomfortable, Lena?” said Alice.

“Please stop saying my name,” Lena said. She said it with such sharpness that Alice was visibly taken aback. Lena looked at all the doors. And the windows. Checking points of entry. Wondering if someone might burst in at any moment.

“Should I not use your name?” Alice was positively perplexed. She’d seen Lena experience a range of emotions during this session. Nothing like this. Lena had turned on a dime.

“I’m the only person here,” said Lena. Buttoning her coat. Preparing to exit. “Using my name...feels like a cheap parlor trick." Lena clearly implying Alice WAS pulling a trick.

Lena would have normally turned on her heels and marched out of the room. Not saying another word. Unfortunately, Lena felt deeply betrayed. The betrayal by her mother was something Lena could deal with and had dealt with for years. Being betrayed by Alice, someone whose professional responsibility was to care for people, who promised Lena that she was safe, who had just sat there and lied to Lena for nearly an hour straight...that was beyond.

Alice tried to hide her emotions. Plenty of clients had stormed out of appointments before. It’s a common reaction for when things get too hard to handle. Bolters. Alice had been trained for moments like this and yet somehow, with Lena, that training seemed to fly out the window. Somehow over the course of the hour, Alice had become 100% dedicated to helping Lena, to protecting her at all costs. The thought of Lena leaving, in distress, in anger, in mistrust...Alice knew that most bolters came back after their emotions stabilized. But when someone bolted in the very first session...the likelihood of returning was zero. Lena could see in Alice’s face, concern, confusion, panic. Maybe Lillian didn’t get to her?

Maybe.

Lena’s sense of betrayal got the best of her. Leaving Alice was like breaking up with a lover. Last words. Closure. Flaming arrows criss crossing the room and everyone ducking for cover and trying to end a war no one understood how got started in first place.

“Trick you how?” said Alice.

“I don’t know. To talk to you,” said Lena. As if Alice trying to get Lena to talk was a betrayal.

“Isn’t that why you came here? To talk to me?” asked Alice, still sounded confused and emotional.

Lena’s head started shaking left and right, incredulous. Lillian had put Lena'a life in danger, abandoned her and sabotaged her happiness countless times. Invading my therapy? It was so transgressive, it felt emotionally incestuous. She almost started shaking from anger and fear and being violated in this way. It was the most out of control Lena had ever felt.

She couldn’t let Alice see. If Alice was working with Lillian...IF...then Lena needed to play it cool. Not let them know that Lena was onto them. Lena snapped back to calm, cool, collected, composed CEO. It broke Alice's heart.

“Yes. Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” said Lena. “I have somewhere to be and I can’t be late.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’ve been doing so great. I can't believe how brave you've been.” said Alice.

Alice’s sincerity, her words of comfort and encouragement, it hit Lena right in the feels.

Alice saw it. Lena saw her see it.

And that’s what made Lena realize she had to leave. She’d just met this woman. And somehow, something inside Lena desperately needed to talk to this woman, connect with her, be cared for by her. Exactly as if Lillian had planned it.

IF Lillian had planned it.

Cutting it off was the only option. Safety first.

Alice saw Lena was preparing to flee. They were on the verge of a breakthrough.

“Thank you for meeting me, Miss Champion,” said Lena.

“Alice. Call me Alice. Please.” said Alice.

There it was again. Please. Alice begging for Lena to stay, to open up, to be cared for...it sent a dull bolt of heat through Lena and it made her want to stay which made her want to run.

“Alice…” said Lena. Complying with the request.

“Why you are running away?” said Alice. Lena didn’t take the bait. She'd already decided this relationship ends. Right here. Right now.

“I’ll be in touch,” said Lena. A cordial goodbye. A flat out lie. Not only was Lena not going to be in touch, Lena was never going to see this woman again.

And then Lena decided to indulge in a minor act of defiance and a major act of indulgence, against her mother, against any of her mother’s accomplices, against the entire world who said she’s never amount to anything other than a Luthor.

Lena decided to use the time machine to exit. Right here. Right now. In front of Alice. In front of anyone who might be watching.

Why not? If Lena zapped herself back to the present, back in time to the lab...this entire sequence of future events would cease to exist and Alice and whoever else was listening in...IF there was anyone else listening in...would have no memory of anything because they wouldn’t have ever happened. Why the fuck not use my time machine? Yes. She was going to display her power. She was going to allow herself to be seen, for one single moment in time. Maybe for the first time. Maybe for the last. Maybe it would last only a moment. And maybe that moment would be lost forever with one to remember it except for Lena herself.

Lena unzipped her purse. Saw the device inside. The coordinates back to the lab pre-programmed. It would just be the flip of a switch and Lena would return. Lena wasn't going to pull it out. That would be too much. Lena knew the difference between power and pride. She'd just turn it on while it was concealed in her bag.

Lena took one last good, strong look into Alice’s eyes. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you. Truly.” She didn’t mean one single word.

“Lena, WAIT.” Alice’s plea seemed to have no effect on the Luthor.

Lena looked back into her bag. 

Her hands found the time travel device.

Her finger flipped the switch.

Poof.

And just like that, Lena was gone.

\----

Reader, what happened next was something so unexpected and delicious that I simply can’t wait until the next chapter to share it with you.

What happened was...Lena went back to the present. Back to her lab. Supergirl was there. Near her charts. Just like Lena had left her. Lena was so relieved. The machine’s future capabilities, to move to the future and return to the present were fully functional. Lena scanned her vitals. Her heart was still racing. From an intense therapy session. From escaping a possible trap that Lillian had set. From her longest time travel journey yet. Lena was chuffed. Her time machine was a success. She was a success. She was so busy beaming with pride that it took a moment to register that Supergirl staring at her with a curious look.

“Who is that?” said Supergirl looking over Lena’s right hand shoulder.

And that’s when Lena felt her right hand shoulder. 

Felt the hand on it. 

Lena turned and saw Alice standing there. With her hand on Lena's shoulder. Trying to take in her new surroundings.

You see, in an attempt to stop Lena from bolting from her therapy session, Alice had leapt up from her chair and put her hand on Lena’s shoulder at exact moment Lena flipped the switch on the time machine.

“Where am I?” said Alice.

Now it was Lena who gulped. “My lab. At L Corp.”

Alice looked around. They certainly weren’t in the hotel. She looked down. She was still wearing her blue dress. Seemingly no time had elapsed from the moment she touched Lena. And yet, here they were, in an entirely different place. A shiver of pure fear ran down Alice's spine.

Touching Luthors did have consequences.


	18. Chapter 18

You should have seen the look on Lena’s face.  When she suddenly realized something - or someone - was touching her shoulder.

All the bravado and abandonment and broken sense of self and superiority and authority and lashing out and posturing  that Lena had just been playing with in the hotel vanished as quickly as she had.

Picture this.  Her body frozen in place.  Then all of a sudden, her neck cranes ‘round to see what - or who - is there.  Her head turned so fast and her eyes opened so wide…it was as if Lena was doing her best impression of the surprised hamster meme.

Of course, you know what she saw.  A hand.  A human hand.  A female hand.  Not Lillian’s, thank God.  That was Lena’s first thought when she felt it on her shoulder.  This hand didn’t have the Luthor family ring on it, the one she had resized after Lionel died.  The one with the family crest on it.  Plus Lillian’s fingers were long like Lena’s.  These fingers, these were, well for one thing they had powder blue, painted press on nails.  Who does she know that would wear…

Lena’s stomach dropped to the floor.  

It couldn’t be.  It can’t be!

Lena’s eyes, still wide as saucers, took a tentative, long, lonely journey from the nails, over the fingers, skimming over the wrist, up the forearm, oh no she thought as she saw the material of the dress.  The dress that she’d been staring at for 30 minutes.  Which was 29 minutes too long.  She should have only stayed a minute in her journey to the future.  Lena’s eyes kept going up the sleeve, over the shoulder, catching a bit of the blonde hairs, the nape of neck, then finally arriving at the intended destination, the face belonging to the owner of the hand on Lena’s shoulder - one Alice Champion.  

Which you already knew.  And Lena had already guessed.  

Lena’s expression changed.  A subtle movement.  A tightening and a quivering of her lower lip coupled with a slight jaw extension.  That, coupled with her still saucer sized eyes and the situation at hand...it was the most vulnerable, the most scared, the most emotionally naked Lena had ever been anywhere ever.  Raw, core emotions.  Bursting through all the walls and facades and calcified countenances of cool now here at the surface, present and available for dealing and healing and resolving and releasing.  With the help and guidance of a compassionate, trained professional, of course.  This moment of complete emotional availability, frankly, it was every therapists dream!

Unfortunately, Alice didn’t see any of it.

Alice was too busy taking in new surroundings.  Bewitched.  Bothered.  And bewildered Her hand stayed on Lena’s shoulder, knowing that, if she took it off, she might end up somewhere else entirely just as fast as she’d ended up here.  Where ever that was.

It gave Lena a moment to assess what had just happened.  What’s she’d just done.  Which was really and truly majorly screwing with the space time continuum by bringing along a hapless, innocent woman back in time.  A woman who hadn’t agreed to this type of thing.  A woman who’d never even met a Luthor before and now was in the belly of the beast: the most secret, high security lab at L Corp where they were decoding a stolen alien isotope to do battle against her mother Lillian to save the aliens among us and stop the loss of human life because we all know that Lillian doesn’t care at all about collateral damage when she’s in one of her moods. 

I know.  I’ll simply reset the time travel device and  bring myself back to the moment when I discovered this time travel device!  That way none of this will ever have happened!  It will be as if Alice and I never time traveled, never spoke, never even met.  It will be as if this woman before me never existed at all.

The thought send a chill through Lena.  The power to simply erase someone.  How good the thought was, how reasonable it seemed.  It was a solution.  To simply cause someone to no longer exist.  In that moment, she could sense Luthor DNA helixing and spiraling throughout her. She cursed her genetic makeup.  I don’t have to be responsible for my first thought, but I do have to be responsible for my second.  Lena was not going to simply erase Alice Champion because it was convenient.  That’s what Lillian would do.  I’ll be able to think of another way.

Maybe I’ll just bring her back?  Reset the time travel device, grab hold her of her and put her back into the hotel room.  I’ll let her grab me, let her think that I’m heading out the door, then I actually head out the door and use the device in the hallway and go back to when none of this ever happened.  Back to the now.  Lena looked into Alice’s face, which was still scanning.  Well, back to right before now.  Would that be disappearing this woman from the annals of human history?   Maybe just this version of this woman?  And some other version of her exists on another timeline?  A version of her that never even met a Luthor?  Who wouldn’t like that?

If I bring her back to the future, will there be two of them?  If I show up and another one is there, I’m screwed.  If I bring her back and another Alice isn’t there, that doesn’t mean that her double isn’t alive, gallivanting elsewhere.  I’ve already seen my double and Alex’s double.  Doubles are a thing.  

Fuck.

Lena had never thought about any of this!  She was no longer looking at Alice.  She was looking at the magnitude of her error.  ‘Colossal fuck up’ was the more apt term, however, Lena knew that there was a fine line between self recrimination and self immolation.  One could aid greatly with motivation and problem solving.  The other lead to immobilization and stasis.  So she labeled it an ‘error.’  Then downgraded the description even further to ‘unforeseen experimental outcome.’  Which technically was true.  Somehow all of this was groundbreaking scientific discovery.  How was she to know any better?  She’d just discovered time travel and that was pretty badass and of course there would be...kinks...in the initial uses of the device.  I’d clearly used the device pretty damn well when I time traveled me and Alex back to save our own lives.  I clearly get better at this.  And I didn’t warn myself about Alice.  I would have mentioned it if I needed to take care of it.  Maybe all this isn’t as big of a deal as I think it is?

Still, she’d brought Alice back in time.  And even thought Lena didn’t do it on purpose, she felt mortified.  Sheepish.  Busted.  It was still a massive problem that needed solving.   Lena Luthor looked like a teenager who had just gotten herself into serious trouble.

It was at this moment that Alice looked Lena in the eye.  Lena did her best to try to look normal.  It was a massive fail.  Do you know the don’t look suspicious meme?  It wasn’t that bad.  But close.

“Where am I?” asked Alice.

Lena tried to remain calm.  Remain cool.  The tone of her voice was a dead giveaway that she was still very much in holy sh*t mode.

““My lab. At L Corp.”

Alice looked around.  The surroundings seemed to confirm that this was the case.   Computers.  Brushed chrome surfaces.  Microscopes.  Other pieces of technology that Alice couldn’t identify.  Supergirl was there.  Yes.  This was some type of lab.

Alice’s brain was having a hard time taking in the all the information.  All new sights, smells, lighting, atmosphere.  How could this be?  She was just in the hotel.  Now she was in a lab. This type of thing only happens in dreams.  Am I dreaming?  Am I asleep right now?  Was the whole therapy session with Lena a dream?  It all felt so real.  Yet this was the only explanation that makes any sense.  And as if obeyed a hypnotic command that came from herself, Alice’s body suddenly entered in a dream like state.  Surrounded by the low lit glare of the mainly stainless steel lab, it looked freaky as F, like an experiment.  She’d crossed the uncanny valley.  For a moment she looked more AI than human.  Lena gulped and felt more Luthor DNA spiraling at the exact same rate this situation was!

Lena put her hand on Alice’s shoulder.  It felt heavy and warm and real.  Too real to be a dream. Alice came back a bit.  Lena looked relieved.  Alice at seen that expression before.  The appointment.  The hotel.  

Could it be true?  Alice checked her clothes.  Checked Lena’s clothes.  Yes.  They were both wearing the outfits they’d worn to the hotel.  The hotel that they were in just a second earlier.  And yet now they were in a lab.  Lena’s lab.  At L Corp.  L Corp was on the other side of town.  And now she was on the other side of town.  They both were.  In a split second.  Alice realized that Lena Luthor had a teleportation device.  And as soon as she touched Lena Luthor, she was teleported along with her.

\---

You know who we haven’t discussed in a while?  Everyone other than Lena Luthor and Alice Champion.

Recall!  That Maggie had been shot!  And brought to the DEO!

Recall!  That J’onn had called in Alex!  Why?  It has yet to be revealed!

Recall!  That canon lesbian Agent Vasquez, who although has yet to do anything super lesbionic in the show is still a canon lesbian based on her haircut and her swagger and how she tries to not look like she’s in love with Alex Danvers in the DEO situation room all confirm lesbionic DNA....recall that she’d just seen Alex and Lena Luthor dump Maggie’s limp body off at the DEO medical bay entrance at the exact moment she’d been trying to find a way to further her career ambitions.  

Recall!  That Lillian had been testing out a version of time travel that made a horse go quite mad and yet still began transported herself into the past in order to manipulate future outcomes, not caring at all the effects it might have on her sanity.

Reader, there are so many things to update you on!  

And yet....

\---

Alice and Lena didn't teleport.  You know that wasn’t it at all.  And yet...that’s what Alice concluded.  Sometimes the mind just puts together the pieces the best way it knows how.  At least she stopped thinking she was dreaming.  This new idea was a big step forward.

Alice looked at the clock in the lab.  It was an analog clock with a round face.  Lena had one installed as a design element.  A throwback to the labs she worked in over summer camp as a child.  The clock read 1:47.  Alice had no idea it was 1:47AM  Since the lab had no windows to the outside, Alice assumed it was the afternoon.  She’d met Lena in the afternoon.  This was moments later.  She quickly assumed the clock was running slow.  That Lena Luthor would allow a clock in one of her L Corp labs to run over an hour slow created a strong sense of cognitive dissonance in Alice.  And yet not enough for her to change her assessment of the situation: Lena Luthor just teleported me across the city.

So when Alice realized - incorrectly - that she’d just traveled to another part of the city via secret Luthor technology at speed previously unknown to mankind, Alice’s stomach started doing flips.  The kind of flips one might feel if one tripped and fell.  And was still falling.  Still tumbling.  Head over feet.  Feet over head.  Down a very, very deep, dark well.  

Alice looked like she was about to throw up.

Did I mention that Alice Champion has severe motion sickness?  Oh, yes.  Ever since childhood.  Long car rides, winding roads, air travel, amusement park rides.  These were the bane of her existence and Alice did her best to avoid those types of things at all costs.  You can imagine how she would have opted out of a teleportation ride.  

It started when she was just a child, in the back of the station wagon, taking the ride to Grandma’s house over long hot summer days on the several hundred mile journey to Idaho Falls.  Alice tried to tell her mother how sick it made her.  And yet what could they do?  They didn’t have enough money to fly there.  Driving was the only option.  And so Alice would spend several weeks each spring, sitting behind her school desk, dreading summer vacation.  Dreading hours of feeling queasy.  Throwing up at every rest stop was the only relief.  She needed that relief now.

Lena was looking at Alice, wondering are you going to throw up?  Right now?  All over me?  Alice looked back as if to say, maybe?  Alice took a moment to decide.  Lena was wearing her favorite blue coat and wouldn’t be able to wear it anymore if it had...you know what...all over it.  Yet Lena seemed to sense that, if she made any sudden movements, this possible undesired outcome would be a certainty.  Alice self assessed.  Realized she wasn’t moving anymore.  Neither was Lena.  With her hand on Lena’s shoulder.  They were both standing on solid ground.  There was no need to get sick from motion sickness if there wasn’t any motion!  Alice looked at a very worried Lena Luthor and changed her answer to no, I’m good.  Lena sighed with relief.  So did Alice.  Now they were both smiling.  Smiling and nodding at each other.  It’s all good!

Then...from the other end of the room...came a voice.

“Hi!”  

Alice looked over Lena’s shoulder.  Lena craned her neck in the opposite direction.  

It was Supergirl.

Friendly as ever.  Eager to meet whoever Lena trusted enough to bring into this lab to do top secret work with them.  Incorrectly assuming that they she’d hadn’t heard them enter due to being so engrossed in her charts.  Even Supergirl wasn’t immune to this type of thinking.

Alice tried to drink this new bit of information in.  Oh.  Yes.  That’s Supergirl standing in the corner.  I saw her earlier, realized Alice.  She’d seen her the second she showed up in the lab.  The bright blue suit, the bright red cap, the aura of power.  The flaxen hair that seemed to flow in the wind even when they were in a windless, windowless room.  It was hard to not see Supergirl.

Unlike before, Alice took a good long look.  Was it really her?  Her brain was finally ready to take this bit of information in.  It was.  It is.  That’s Supergirl.  Right there in front of me.

Supergirl the alien.  

Lena the Luthor.  

A Luthor and a Super was one of the deadliest combinations on earth.

And here they were. The three of them.  Alone.  In the L Corp lab.  A lab that Alice didn’t agree to being in.  Had they...abducted her?

Supergirl stood up to shake Alice’s hand.  As soon as Supergirl moved, the first real movement that Alice had seen since she got her, an alien, coming towards her.

You should have seen the look on Alice’s face.   

She looked exactly like Lena did after waking up on Rhea’s spacecraft, looking down on Earth as a narcissistic alien slash future mother in law was was outlining Lena’s upcoming life as the newly chosen and soon-to-be crowned heterosexual queen overlord of Earth.  It was a time Lena didn’t like to reflect on much for a myriad reasons.  And yet here it was.  Playing out on Alice’s face.

Long story short, it looked like Alice was going to throw up.  For reals this time.  Alice felt Lena at least deserved honesty.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” said Alice.  Which was a polite way of saying I’m going to throw up right now.

Alice started to lurch forward.  She tried her best to hold it back but It was clear to all that vomit was about to happen.  

Supergirl, being a superhero, took action.

She used superspeed to leave the room, enter the hallway, and was about to enter the first office when she realized the door was locked, tried the next door, it too was locked, checked three other doors until she came to a supply closet, grabbed the wastebasket, brought it back to the lab and placed it in Lena’s hands under Alice’s face and returned to her position at the far end of the room all in under half a second.  

With Supergirl coming and going at super speed right in front of her.  Leaving with that super swish and returning with a super blur...Alice leaned over and started puking straight away, her motion sickness in overdrive.  Lena held the bucket and, well, I won’t subject you to a detailed description.  

Lena turned away and found herself exchanging looks with Supergirl.

Supergirl gave a look that said “who is this person?”  

Lena shot back a look to Supergirl that said, “why am I holding this bucket?  Aren’t you supposed to be the superhero?”  

Supergirl smiled and tried to play it off like she didn’t know what Lena was talking about and it was somewhat easy to do since Lena wasn’t actually talking.  Supergirl’s lack of game and guilt meant she looked visibly relieved to not be performing bucket duty.  Lena couldn’t help it.  She was both surprised and impressed that Supergirl had pawned something off to someone else. 

Lena didn’t know that Supergirl’s love of food meant she absolutely detested any form of...regurgitation.  That simply wasn’t done on Krypton.  Kryptonian’s don’t eat to excess.  Don’t eat garbage and are so clean and pure, they also didn’t have germs.  Viruses, exhaustion, injury, sure Kryptonians got ill - but they never got sick.  

Kara was 14 when she first saw someone vomit.  It was in the school cafeteria, shortly after Alex and Kara became friends as well as step sisters.  Near their lunch table was Gerard and the rest of the lacrosse team.   Bullies the lot of them.  There was some sort of impromptu eating contest they’d roped some freshman into performing and soon there was a crowd and cheering and without warning, Kara witnessed a geyser of masticated food coming OUT of someone’s gaping maw a forward velocity that bulged behind the poor lad’s eyes and a scent that caused Kara to feel like she might experience the very thing she was watching.   She used superspeed to exit the room, arriving at her locker and just panting and trying to get the image and smell out of her mind.  Puppies!  Picture puppies at play!  

A minute later Alex arrived, panting.  She’d run to Kara’s locker to chastise her for using superpowers at school, in front of everyone.  Luckily they were all staring at...something else...and no one saw, but still Kara!  That’s the type of thing that will...will WHAT, Alex?  You don’t even want to know!  I do want to know.  Alex looked left, looked right, they were alone.  The reason why Mom and Dad don’t want anyone to know you have power is because they don’t want the government to take you and start performing experiments on you!  Kara put on a tough face.  I’d like to see them try.  Secretly, the thought of being separated from her second family...she’d already lost her real one...Kara felt like she was going to throw up.

And that’s why the sights, sounds and smells of anyone retching became Kara’s least favorite thing on earth.

Alice finished heaving.  Tried to not look in the bucket.  Lena also tried to not look in the bucket.  Supergirl avoiding looking in the bucket because, as stated earlier, she’d put herself clear on the other side of the room from...all that.  

Alice took the bucket from Lena.  Wondered where to put it.  Looked around for a sink.  Saw the stainless steel surfaces, realized she wasn’t in a lavatory.  She was in a laboratory.  At L Corp.  And suddenly felt sick all over again.  Lena winced as Alice leaned over, ready for what may.  And yet...and yet...nothing.  There was nothing left.  They both looked up and sheepishly smiled at each other.  Grateful it was over and each a bit embarrassed at the situation they found themselves in, albeit for different reasons.  Lena for having “teleported” Alice (again, that’s not what happened) and Alice for throwing up like some college freshman who couldn’t hold their liquor and needed her sorority sister to help.

And in this moment, this inglorious moment of motion sickness and buckets and relief, they really and truly were sorority sisters.  The first two members of the National City Time Travelers Association.  The founding members.  Whose membership wouldn’t be recognized until the organization’s tricentennial celebrations.  Of a club that wouldn’t be formed for another several hundred years.  And whose members would never know the true circumstances of the world’s first tandem time travel trip.  In the future, Lena and Alice would be celebrated as two the bravest explorers the world had ever known.  Heroic pioneers of a technology so powerful that, immediately upon discovery, the United Nations immediately created legislation and regulations that ensured the technology would be never be used again.  

What would be forever lost in the annals of history was the fact that this maiden voyage (pun intended) was a enormous miscalculation.  A mistake.  Whose major moments were the source of much misery.

Lena needed to take control.  Or at least look like she was in control.  And the best way to look like you are in control is to have impeccable manners.

“Supergirl, allow me to introduce...” 

Lena paused and looked at Alice, who was holding a bucket of vomit.  The absolute worst way to be introduced to someone.  This fact showed plainly on Alice’s face.  Lena looked back at Supergirl who also knew this.  And yet introductions needed to happen.  Where was Emily Post when you needed her?

As they all contemplated the most cordial way to handle this situation, Supergirl saw Alice’s eyes drift to the table.  To the charts.  The charts with the star patterns and alien math and her future which was technically against the high moral Kryptonian code and certainly not for human eyes.  Supergirl’s face flushed.  She grabbed her cape and with a flourish swooshed it to cover the entire table of charts behind her.  It was the most obvious hiding of evidence that Lena had ever seen and yet the grace with which Supergirl manipulated her cape somehow made it okay.  Cool, even.  Supergirl was obviously working on something super secret.  As superheroes as want to do.  Alice accepted this without question.  In fact, she seemed grateful to not have to be responsible for the knowledge of whatever was on that table.

Lena cleared her throat and repeated herself.  Giving them all a much needed restart.  

“Supergirl, this is…”

Just like before, Lena paused.  Made quick calculations.

Realized that if she introduced Alice Champion to Supergirl...Supergirl could easily look Alice up.  Google her.  Find out she’s a therapist.  Find out Lena was in therapy.  Is in therapy.  Start questioning why.  Start questioning Lena’s emotional stability.  Capability.  And Lord knows what else.  

What other dangers might there be in an innocent introduction?   What if Supergirl not only looks Alice up, what if she goes to visit Alice.  And in visiting Alice, she comes across the present day Alice (as opposed to the future day Alice that was here with them now.)  What if the present day Alice Champion has no recollection of meeting Supergirl?  Because of course she didn’t.  And therefore wouldn’t.  Which sets Supergirl off on an investigation and next thing I know I’m busted for having a time machine and all hell breaks loose before I have time to figure out how to use it to stop Lillian and put things right in the world? 

“Supergirl...this is...this is Meg,” said Lena.

Alice took a deep inhale in.  Knew it was a lie.  And yet knew to keep her mouth shut.

She’d just been teleported.  By secret Luthor technology.  No wonder Lena’s assistant insisted on that ironclad NDA.  Violating it could threaten drain Alice’s entire  life savings  if she broke it.  Just getting into a legal battle to determine whether or not the NDA was valid would certainly involve facinga Lena’s battalion of attorneys who would file motion after motion after motion, bankrupting Alice before they even faced a judge.  Money was often on Alice’s mind.

Alice nodde and played along.  Raised one hand off the bucket and waved meekly.  Lena was relieved.  Meg, I mean Alice, was going to play along.

“Hi, Meg,” said Supergirl.  “I’m Supergirl.”  Supergirl put her hands on her hips in her signature power pose.  People at that shit up.  Meg opened her eyes wide and nodded approvingly, the way you would do for a child who’d just finished some menial activity and expected applause.  

“Yes.  Yes, you are,” said Meg.  

I mean, Alice.  Alice!

Alice fished into her purse and found a kleenex and wiped her mouth and straightened herself up.  She deserved some dignity if she was going to be playing along with this little ruse of Lena’s.  Lena on the other hand, kept on talking as if nothing was amiss.

“Meg works for me.  For L Corp.” said Lena.  Trying to fill the silence with facts that were technically true and wholly obvious and unnecessary.

“What do you do for L Corp?” asked Supergirl.

Meg had no idea.  Because Meg the L Corp employee didn’t exist.  Alice turned to Lena and gave her a somewhat sly and sarcastic eye roll that indicated “what does this...Meg...do for L Corp?”

Lena wanted to gulp.  She didn’t.

“Is everything alright with you, Meg?”  said Lena.  “You’re obviously not well.”  Lena was trying to find a quick exit for the two of them.

“Shall I bring you to the hospital?” asked Supergirl who gathered up all of her documents and star charts, put them into a folder, tucked it under her cape and was suddenly standing next to the two time travelers.

Not that quick of an exit!  Said the expression on both of their faces!

As for Lena...have Supergirl bring Alice Champion to the hospital?  Where they would immediately create admittance records?  That meant certain disaster for the timeline.  As for Alice...the mere thought of being scooped up into Supergirl’s arms and flown around National City bridal style to some emergency room clear across town?  That might be many people’s fantasy but for Alice it meant the absolute worst type of motion sickness on the planet.  Well, of the planet.

Lena and Alice spoke at the same time.

“I’m fine!” said Alice.  “She’s fine!” said Lena.  Both blurting it out with certainty and finality.

“There’s a bathroom just outside,” said Lena.  “Shall we?”

Before Alice could respond, Lena took Alice’s hand and guided her out to the hallway. and walked her towards the ladies room.

 

\---

Reader, I know you are hungry to hear more about the moments when Maggie entered the DEO.  And about Vasquez. That ambitious little sneak who followed and watched and decided that somehow, some way, Maggie’s admittance into med bay was going to be the way to advance by being a part of whatever top special ops the DEO was running in conjunction with L Corp.  And best of all - oh I look forward to telling you about this! - the moment when J’onn called Alex in and confronted her about all the bullshit behind the scenes bullshit she’d been running!  

I promise it’s coming.  And when have I failed to deliver on my promises, Reader? 

Spend just a few more minutes with me and Alice and Lena.  Won’t you?

\---

Alice kept quiet during the short walk down the hall.  Figuring there was deep shit going on and best to roll with it instead of pushing back.  Especially when she didn’t have all the information.  Hanging back and waiting for information was what therapists do, so her training served her well in this moment.  Plus, Lena has just lied to Supergirl, supposed defender of truth justice and the American way.  Why?  Was it because Supergirl was an alien and Lena was finally working with her mother?  Although Supergirl was in Lena’s lab.  Hmmm.  And what was up with Supergirl covering those papers?  Were they working together?  Or was one a double agent?  

Lena was about to push the bathroom door open when Alice stopped her.  Grabbed her by the arm.  The second time she’d touched a Luthor.  This time wasn’t to comfort.  It was to confront.

“Lena, what is going on?” asked Alice.

“Nothing,” said Lena.  Not very convincingly.  Alice clearly needed answers.  “It’s um…” Lena looked shifty.  Looking up and down the hallway.  Making sure no one saw them.  “Let’s talk in private.” 

Lena ushered Alice into the bathroom, where they would surely be alone and Lena could take a breath and finally concoct some type of believable story that would give her time to think and figure things out and come up with a plan.  Step one was to assure Alice that everything was fine and would continue to be fine.    
They walked inside the bathroom.  And when they got inside, Alice saw every wall and mirror covered with calculations written in lipstick.  It was as if they’d just stepped inside the world’s most brilliant and disturbed mind.  

Lena had forgotten.  Immediately cursed herself for bringing Alice here.

Alice turned to Lena and looked furious.  Demanding answers.  Demanding the truth.

“I can explain?”  said Lena, her tone indicating she doubted this claim more than anybody.

Reader, I hate to say this time and time again...but you should have seen the look on their faces!


	19. Chapter 19

The click of Lena’s heels on the tiles.  Nothing to absorb the sound.  Porcelain and metal and stone.  The bathroom felt cold and cavernous.  Unusually so.  Despite there being no windows, no view of the pitch black sky and the waxing moon, despite the fact her mind had already decided it was afternoon...Alice’s body knew better.  It could feel the late hour.  Could feel that the building was devoid of virtually all human presence.  Her bones could feel hundreds of desolate, echoing hallways.  Scores of empty conference rooms, and abandoned desks.  Emptiness.  Above them.  Below them.  

As soon as she entered, Alice put her hand on the wall to steady herself.  
The wall was cold.  Cold like all the heat was off.  Cold like nighttime.  Her body was telling her all of this.  Insisting on it.  Alice’s brain summarily rejected those notions, not even bothering to run them by consciousness.  Quickly signing off on neural “paperwork” which attributed her chill to having had just thrown up.  Her body working overtime, throwing over unnecessary baggage in attempts to keep the vessel right.  And remembering the reason for this bathroom visit, Alice turned to the sinks.  

And saw.

Mirrors.  A row of them.  Covered top to bottom with neat and purposeful equations.  Written in bright red lipstick.  Some of the symbols looked made up.  The closest thing Alice had ever seen to them were in the cyphers the Zodiac killer created to taunt the police.  

First impressions.  Marred mirrors.  Madness.  Mass Murder.  

A new chill flooded Alice’s body as her eyes blew wide.  Scanning for clues.  Landing on the discarded tube and cap.  The writing implement in question lay discarded on a small stainless steel shelf.  Looking like a soldier, dead and broken on the battlefield, having given his life to the cause.  

What that cause was, however, Alice couldn’t begin to know.  Something technical.

And by the look on Lena’s face, secret.  So secret, Lena looked like she’d deeply regretted bringing Alice into this bathroom.

“I can explain?” said Lena, trying to gauge the veracity of her words as they exited.  Her tone informing them both this statement was dubious at best.  Her eyes were working overtime to provide additional data, telegraphing to Alice things like: “Oops.”  And “I forgot about this.  Ha ha?”  And “you weren’t supposed to see this” and “f*ck f*ck f*ck.” 

Alice decided that Lena not being shocked by this finding was a good thing, although truthfully it was 50/50.  Lena saw this.  Tried to figure out what to do next.  Her eyes continued to tell on her.  Telegraphing “I’m really sorry about this and I would explain everything to you but as you can guess I have other things going on and you’re not exactly a priority in fact you’re a problem” then added “I’ll just need a moment to figure out how I’m going to lie my way out of this, mmmkay?”

It was borderline insulting, however, lying was commonplace to Alice.  Clients did it all the time.  Sometimes on purpose.  Sometimes reflexively.  Sometimes they didn’t even know what they were saying was a lie.  Take your pick.  Lies are a frequent part of the therapeutic process.  Chronic complainers and martyrs were one thing, but for the rest of the population, if people were comfortable talking about their problems, they wouldn’t need therapy.  Clamming up.  Shutting down.  Lies.  They’re all attempts to protect the emotional ecosystem that clients spend years swaddling themselves in.  Until mummification occurs.  And then mums the word.  At that point, there is no unraveling.  It’s calcified.  A deep cut now the only way in.  Fearing that, people go into denial.  A rejection of a reality that requires, nay, demands incision.  Sometimes openly denying the existence of a circumstance is the very first time someone has ever verbalized anything on the topic.  And that’s a step forward.  

So Alice didn’t take Lena’s lies and evasion personally.  She’d obviously entered Lena’s secret world.  And suddenly.  Lena clearly didn’t mean for Alice to be at L Corp.  And certainly not in this bathroom.  Alice entering this sterile chamber was the incision.  The blood draining from Lena’s face bore evidence of that.  The equations served as the blood splatter.

Whatever it was that Lena had been hiding all session, Alice was now standing in the middle of it.

\---

A slight breeze came off the ocean and nipped at the man’s heels as he speed walked across the concrete oceanfront plaza.  Fists jammed into pockets, he twisted his jacket closer, wrapping himself in whatever extra warmth he could find until finally he arrived at the appointed meeting place: The statue of Supergirl.  

Just standing under it made him feel five degrees colder.  The polished steel trapped the cold, the Supergirl’s cape sliced through the wind, slicing it into two punishing streams of cold which blasted him like two freeze breaths at once.  He walked around the effigy until discovering the exact placement where the Supergirl statue was shielding him from the wind.  Laughing to himself at the ease of escaping Supergirl’s punishment and now using her for protection.  Stupid Girl.  That’s what criminals said when they got away with something seemingly right under Supergirl’s nose.  And here he was literally under Stupid Girl's nose.

He around the darkened plaza.  Not a man in sight.  And why would anyone be here, standing by a freezing ocean at 2AM on a Saturday night?  I suppose that’s the point, he thought.  The trading of stolen goods shouldn’t be done in front of an audience.  And he looked up at Stupid Girl's nose and realized...Maybe this is a sting?  

It wouldn’t be the first time he got busted for something or other.  His friends swore up and down that this guy was legit.  Decided to wait two minutes.  Then scram.  Had circumstances been different...but they weren’t different.  Junkie’s need money for junk.  He jumped up and down for warmth.  Wondering who on Earth would choose to conduct illegal business right under The Girl of Steel statue?

Like an answer to his question.  A wisp of light.  A crack of sound.  And suddenly before him stood The Scavenger.  

Looking positively dapper.  Brioni, single breasted, black cashmere top coat.  Wool pants hemmed at a perfect half break, landing on rounded, italian leather shoes with straight laces.  A cashmere silk blend turtleneck completed the look.  The Scavenger was feeling positively longshoreman chic.  Of course, to truly complete that that look he would have needed a knit cap.  And that simply not do for his ‘do.  His hair was his signature, and tonight it was gently tossing about as if in it’s own rarefied atmosphere.  Scavenger loved making an entrance.  

And loathed the fact that the only audience for it was this common street criminal.  Jumping up and down for warmth.  Undisciplined.  Sweaty.  Needy.  Hungry.  Helpless.  The Scavenger carried on, never allowing external factors to influence his carriage, which as you know landed somewhere in between regal and scoundrel.

A silver tipped cane in appeared in his hand, his left palm caressing the onyx sphere that served as it’s handle.  Clicking it on the concrete.  Taking long, casual, calculated strides towards the man.  Every step letting the mortal know.  I.  AM.  NOTHING.  LIKE.  YOU.

The dude was scared.  And Scavenger was pleased.  But just for a moment.  Scavenger knew that being a junkie is a terrifying existence.  Will you get what you need?  Will you go into withdrawal?  Will you overdose and die?  Will you lose everyone you love?  Your dreams?  Your humanity?  Will you be caught?  Will you go to jail?  When you’re a junkie, you know the answers to all of these questions are most likely yes.   And they only thing to numb that terror is more drugs.  

And for that you need cold hard cash.

The Scavenger hated paying for things in cash.  It was...low.  Beneath him.  Unsophisticated.  Crude.  The Scavenger preferred trading goods of equal value.  A rare objet d’art he’d grown tired of and was willing to part with.  Circulating his personal collection kept his home feeling fresh and new, especially for guests.  If they couldn’t trade in goods, then why not diamonds or a gold bar?  The Scavenger appreciated minerals.  Diamonds mined from craters Siberia were made from asteroids crashing millions of years ago.  At least that was a bit of history.  Some space travel.  Gold had a far less illustrious pedigree, however, at least Gold is somewhat rare.  But Cash?  Badly designed pieces of paper by incompetent governments honoring questionable figures, lacking any inherent value or artistry?  Cash was grubby.  Passed from one germ filled hand to another, soiling from each interaction until each bill is declared ruined, then culled, shredded and dumped into landfills.  Or used in home insulation or some other unsavory unknown applications.  Carrying cash, simply put, it was degrading.  Unfortunately, cash was required.  So The Scavenger, much to his displeasure, brought cash.

The man had stopped jumping.  Took in the Scavengers glowing features.  Despite his eyes displaying an unabashed inferiority, the Junkie initiated the transaction with an impatient tone

“Do you have the money?” said the Junkie.  

The Scavenger softly patted his coat, indicating to the vulgar and uncultured man before him exactly where the bills were.

“And do you have what I’ve come for?” asked The Scavenger, his voice dripping with an unhurried refinement.

\---

Explaining all of this would be nearly impossible for anyone.  Even Lena Luthor.  Alice decided to spare her.  Alice turned her attention back to the mirrors.

Mirrors are such ordinary objects.  There isn’t a building on earth that doesn’t have one. Most have several.  Some several hundred.  Hospitals, hotels, homes, restaurants, mini marts, morgues.  They’re everywhere.  Bathrooms, bedrooms, changing rooms, anterooms, ballrooms, dining halls.  Placed for decoration.  Creating atmosphere.  Adding depth.  Reflecting light.  Most have much more utilitarian use.  Hung to aid us in the art self examination.  To assist us in cleansing ourselves.  In crafting ourselves for presentation to others.   They do this by presenting an entire world, a false world, one containing representations of everything it sees in our three dimensional world and recreating them on it’s two dimensional surface.  We use this illusion maker so frequently, we don’t even flinch when looking into this haunting replica, when looking into our double who lives in the mirror world.  Mirror worlds being so common and all.  

Mirrors are one of the most commonly used tools on the entire planet.  So easy, even a baby can use it.  Hands free.  No batteries required.  Mirrors are constantly performing their labor.  Reflecting what it in front of them.  Even when that reflection is complete darkness.  

What was the first Earth mirror?  Another person’s reaction?  Another person’s eyes?  A dark pool of water?  Volcanic glass?   Ice?  Native peoples used mirrors to communicate over hundreds of miles, signals consisting of flashes of light.  Mirrors were the first wireless technology.  Mirrors were the first text messagers.  From its humble origins of polished metals to the current glass models, they are rich with history...and rife with technology.  They don’t just hang on walls.  Mirror making is a highly scientific pursuit.  Mirrors live inside telescopes, lasers, cameras.  Take apart some of the worlds most top secret military technology and you will eventually find some type of mirror.  Some reflecting light, others reflecting electromagnetic radiation and wavelengths.  Some mirrors only partially reflect, designed to allow certain things to pass through.  And don’t forget the two way mirror.  Where one interacts with their reflection and while another observes undetected.  Flat, convex or concave.  Made from an array of organic and man-made materials.  Various surface qualities.  Various applications.  Various...tolerances.  The common bathroom mirrors having one of the lowest tolerances.

The illusion of the mirror is so effortless, naturally it would stand that it’s obliteration would be equally effortless.  Anything placed, stuck, drawn or carved onto the surface of the mirror, even a simple finger tip does the trick.  Shattering the illusion.  A cracked mirror surface being so universally disturbing that scores of legends and lores across all cultures warn against the cursed-ness resulting from the forever destruction of a mirror world.  

The lipstick lines drawn across the row of bathroom mirrors very much resembled cracks.

Alice looked at the numbers and symbols of unknown origin drawn on the mirror.  The cognitive dissonance of the mirror world and the almost destruction of that illusion.  She willed herself to look past the equations that were beyond her comprehension and into figures behind the figures.  Into her and Lena’s faces.  

Red lines like prison bars.  Obscuring them.  Trapping them in an alternate reality.  The lines seemed alive.  Like they were vibrating off the mirrors.

Alice looked deep into eyes of the mirror world Lena.  The red veil of enigmatic notations only serving to highlight the myriad calculations Lena was currently sorting through.  There seemed to be more calculations in Lena’s eyes than on the mirrors.  Alice looked at herself in the mirror.  Like Lena, the mirror world Alice was also trapped behind the same perplexing, impenetrable screen of symbols.  

The mirror world is easy enough to escape.  A simple turn of the head.  And so that’s what Alice did.  She looked down, towards the sink and turned on the water.  And the second world, the world of their doubles, instantly disappeared.  Dipped her hands into the cool water.  Splashing it on her face.  Rinsing her mouth.  Bringing a groundedness, a clarity.  Alice turned off the water and a wave of emotion flooded into Alice.  Somehow, all of this felt so uncanny, so familiar.  Was it deja vu?  

Instead of focusing on their reflections, Alice again inspected the mysterious marks.  

Spirals and whirlpools.  

They looked so, so familiar.

 

\---

The Scavenger had his doubts that something so rare would wind up in the possession of a human.  A junkie no less.   The Scavenger chalked up the accounts of its existence to legends and lore.  Fables that were so enchanting and so thoroughly excited the imagination, people collectively began editing the stories, upgrading them from legend to rumor and finally to first person accounts.  As if the thing itself actually existed.  As if it did what everyone said it did.  

And yet, The Scavenger didn’t just find himself with scoundrels and thieves and pirates of intergalactic antiquities.  The collectors of those items were often some of the most impressive in existence.  Scholars.  Philanthropists.  Kings.  Diplomats.  A party on Caldor-3 in honor of the birth of an heir to the Royal House of Hygg’ad.  Three people of impeccable repute inisited they’d seen it with their own eyes.  Their accounts so vivid The Scavenger knew at once he would do anything in his power to possess i - if it were real.  

Which it probably wasn’t.  This was a fool’s errand, surely.  

The Junkie nodded his head for The Scavenger to provide further proof of the money.  The Scavenger’s glowing tapered fingers unbuttoned his coat, reached inside and pulled out a bundle of freshly minted twenty dollar bills, wrapped in a violet currency strap indicating two thousand dollars.  

If he was going to carry cash, it was going to be the, cleanest, crispest, most stylish cash possible.

“Fan it,” commanded the Junkie.

The Scavenger took the stack and held it forward with both hands, rippling the bills before the junkie’s eyes, revealing their authenticity and uniformity.  The Junkie got excited.  

“Now YOU show ME,” said The Scavenger, retracting the bills back towards himself.

The Junkie moved quickly.  He’d seen what he wanted.  Now he wanted to get that money, get out of here and get where he needed to go.  He reached behind himself as if to pull a gun out from the back of his waistband.  

The Scavenger was ready to pulse lightning out of his fingers and zap this guy and whatever he was going for off the face of the planet.  Luckily, The Scavenger never acted in haste.  For the man didn’t pull out a gun.  Instead, he presented something about 14 inches long, flat and wrapped in felt.  The size and shape seemed to be what had been described.  This was a good start.  

Despite promising to explain everything, Lena hadn’t breathed a word.

Alice checked her watch and reported its findings to Lena.  “Lena, our hour is up.”   Then Alice walked out of the bathroom.  

\---

 

The Scavenger nodded and the man followed the wordless command.  Started unwrapping the felt swaddling the precious object.

“Careful...careful…” said The Scavenger.  

The Junkie slowed down, unwrapping with a bit more care.  Didn’t want anything to come between him and that stack.  The Scavenger tried to temper his emotions as the layers peeled away.  It could be a fake.  It was most likely a fake.  Then the last bit of felt came off and there it was.  

Exactly as everyone had described.  

The Scavenger let out a little gasp.

\---

Lena chased Alice into the hallway.  Alice had made her way to the elevators and had already hit the down button.  

“Where are you going?” asked Lena.

“Back to my office,” said Alice.  

“You...you can’t,” said Lena as the elevator doors opened.  Alice stepped inside and hit the down button.    “If you’d like another appointment, please have your assistant contact me.” 

The doors started to close and Lena jumped inside.

“Ms. Champion, I...I…” Lena was stammering.

“It’s fine, Lena.  I willingly signed an NDA.  And as your therapist, I’m ethically bound to everything about our session completely confidential.  Including somehow interacting with a top secret L Corp teleportation device.”

The elevator was plunging at a rapid rate.  No ride requests from any of the presently deserted floors.

“Alice, that’s not it.”

\---

The Junkie handed it over, grabbed the cash and ran off.  The Scavenger’s fingers still wrapping around the handle of his newest, most prized possession.  A hand mirror, the back adorned with intricate repousse metal work.  The Scavenger took care to not look directly in the mirror face.  He still needed to test its powers.  

\---

“I shouldn’t have touched you.  That was my mistake and I own it,” said Alice.  19, 18, 17.  They were almost at the lobby.

Lena was at a loss for words and yet she had to make do.

“Alice, remember how you kept bringing up my mother and I kept bringing up…”  8,7,6.  Lena felt so foolish!  “Alice, I didn’t make a teleportation device.”

Ding.  The doors opened.  Alice had quite enough of Lena’s evasion.  When the hour was up, the session had to end.  Alice stepped out of the elevator and marched through the lobby.   Lena in hot pursuit, thinking to herself how often she’d marched off and other people had given chase.  So this is how it feels?  Thought Lena.  

Alice didn’t even seem to notice that the lobby was empty.  Didn’t notice the darkness of the outside through the glass walls.  She was intent on leaving.  On setting a boundary.  Both personal and professional.  Lena Luthor is not better than me.  Is not more important than me.  How will she respect me if I don’t show her that my time is valuable?  That our time is valuable?

“Alice wait, please!” said Lena right as Alice pushed the doors and headed to the street.

Alice stopped dead in her tracks.  Her body now screaming at her.  It!  Is!  Nighttime!

Lena watched Alice’s head turn this way and that.  Looking down cold, dark empty streets.  Looking up a brightly hung moon.  Looking back at Lena, who looked genuinely sorry.

“Alice, I didn’t make a teleportation device.  I made a time machine.”

\----

 

The Scavenger walked the waterfront park until he came to a tree whose base was dusted with the plants French called “Lion’s tooth.”   Dandelions.  The Scavenger crouched low, as if to talk to this one dandelion in particular.  He took out the mirror and held it up to the weed, as if the plant had eyes and had requested to see its own reflection.  The Scavenger not looking into the mirror, instead keeping his gaze directly on the hundreds of florets on the plants head.  And just as the legends had foretold, the plant, the actual plant started to transform.  

Yellow florets instantly morphed into the blowball, the puffy white seedlings blew off and the rest of the stem turned brown, wilted and died.

You could have knocked The Scavenger over with a feather.  

\---

Alice heard what Lena said.  She’d been hearing almost nothing other than time machines all hour long.  It clearly wasn’t afternoon.  Time had passed.  The only thing Alice didn’t know was in what direction.  She needed to check the time on her phone.  Alice reached for her purse, which she wasn’t carrying.  She’d left it in the hotel room.  With her coat.  Alice was shivering.  Due to cold?  Due to fear?   She needed to know the time.  

“What time is it?” asked Alice.

Lena looked so, so sorry.

“Around two in the morning,” said Lena.

“What...what DAY is it?” asked Alice.

“Saturday.  Well, technically Sunday,” said Lena.  Alice was trying to take it all in.  “For you, technically it’s...this past Sunday.”

Alice needed confirmation from someone, anyone other than a Luthor.  Spotted a cab approaching.  Alice ran into the middle of the street, putting herself in its path, waving it down  as if it were a matter of life and death.  Lena started scrambling after her.  Alice’s shoes were a bit more sensible which gave her an edge.  The cab screeched to a halt and rolled down it’s windows.

“What’s the madda withcu, lady?”  said the Cabbie.

Alice ran to the open window.  “What day is it?  What’s the date?”  So desperate for this information, the Cabbie opted to skip the sarcasm and just tell her what she wanted to know.  “Sunday the 27th.”

You could have knocked Alice over with a feather.

\---

The Scavenger turned the mirror away from the dead flower.  Instantly it reverted back to its previous form.  Young and budding and alive.

The Yingling Mirror was real.

The Scavenger fell back right on his ass, which wasn’t a far fall since he was already crouched low.  Laughing and laughing and laughing.  He was now the proud owner of a fourth dimensional hybrid mirror that showed any living entity what they looked like at the exact moment of their death.

\---

“National City is full of crazies,” muttered the Cabbie, “I oughta go back to Boise.”  Then drove off.  Leaving Alice in the middle of the street.  Finally understanding, finally believing what had happened, where they were and how they got here.  

Lena was prepared for the worst.  That wasn’t exactly what happened.

Just like The Scavenger, Alice fell to the ground laughing.  When the world provides you with an unimaginable stroke of good fortune, sometimes the only possible reaction is laughter.  Sheer awe and delight covered Alice’s face.  

She looked at Lena with near reverence, thinking that the woman before her, the enigmatic Lena Luthor, is without a doubt the most brilliant woman to ever walk the face of the earth.  

And I’m her therapist!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously...on Rivals: 
> 
> Lena told her therapist they'd traveled two days back in time. The Scavenger purchased a curious item - the Yingling mirror. And Alex Danvers was called into the DEO...
> 
> We resume our tale...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if you missed this chapter! Much of Chapter 20 lays the groundwork for things in Chapter 21...and beyond.

The least populated district of National City is West Nat, short for West National.  The more cynical of the residents call it Haz Mat, due to the abandoned nuclear power plant that lies just beyond the city limits.  The plant was built twenty years ago, with promises of a clean, sustainable energy source that would cut bills for both residents and businesses, which would create an economic boon, what with everyone being flush with extra cash.  And jobs, of course.  Loads of jobs.  The plant was going to need an enormous staff.  From scientists to janitors.  People would be moving to West Nat.  Buying property.  Patronizing businesses.  And did we mention that nuclear power is the most environmentally friendly energy source?  Virtually no greenhouse gases. The flyers promoting this potential power plant we placed in nearly every resident’s mailbox.  Billboards. Bus bench ads.  The campaign slogan was plastered everywhere: Power to the People.  People love to read about themselves.  And this plant was about improving lives.  Who wouldn’t vote for it?  The proposal was passed in record time.  The ground was broken in record time.  The plant was already breaking records and it wasn’t even operational.  That’s when egos came in.  More records.  More recognition.  They didn’t need to pay for billboards and marketing anymore.  Each achievement was news.  It opened in record time.  And broke in record time.  Similar to the Titanic lacking lifeboats, the plant lacked proper ventilation.  Pressurized gas expanded pipes, causing hairline cracks, flaws in the system soon releasing radioactive gas into the surrounding forest.  

The cracks were detected immediately. Sensors and emergency controls on the network shut the plant down immediately. Turning a power plant off is a bit like turning off a fan.  The blades continue to spin a bit.  Radioactive gas leaked in a fifty foot circle surrounding the main reactors.  The grasses, insects, worms and microbes in the ground instantly dying.  The plant was immediately classified as a hazardous waste site while the powers that be decided what to do next.  The cost of repairing the plant was only 500 million dollars, which honestly was next to nothing compared to what it would earn over several decade.  The competing fossil fuel industries started spamming voters with flyers emblazoned with the newest slogan: Fight the Power.   There was intense debate on what to do, the city seemed evenly split.  And it was during this intense moment of civic unrest when Superman revealed himself, fighting aliens and saving earth from a different toxic element, evil aliens.  Seemingly overnight, a reactionary vote was held, banning the use of nuclear power in National City for the next hundred years.  National City decided there were powers that were too great, powers that were too dangerous, powers that needed to not just have emergency measures around - they needed to be eliminated entirely.

Haz Mat still was a neighborhood.  Still a place where people lived, worked, played, raised kids, shopped, retired.  Just...less people...than other areas.  Malls, schools, offices, grocery stores - all of the existed in Haz Mat.

In fact, one of the city’s highest rated animal hospitals was in Haz Mat.  Although that could be because it had far less foot traffic, far fewer animals brought in, the facilities looked brand new.  No lines.  No waiting.  

Especially on a Saturday night.  Saturday night at the animal hospital was dead quiet.  Which was exactly why Marilyn Moses signed up to be the overnight receptionist.  

Tonight Marilyn’s hands were delicately wrapped around bamboo knitting needles, dexterously spinning, wrapping, dipping and curling the softest yarn, creating rows and rows of a luxurious caramel colored scarf that was already two and a half feet long.  While her husband slept soundly at home with their two daughters, Marilyn sat at this desk from 10pm - 6am.  This schedule allowed her to basically get paid for doing her coursework as she worked to complete an associates degree to be a medical sonographer.  And when her homework was complete, Marilyn put Enya on the stereo and knitted.  Life couldn’t be more perfect.  

The Doctor and Nurse on duty stayed in the back, making the most of their time, as well.  The Doctor read fantasy novels and napped.  The nurse did something mysterious online.  No one asked any questions.  Both were kind.  And quiet.  The atmosphere lacked a spirit of camaraderie, yet the lack of smalltalk and socialization somehow this afforded everyone the freedom and privacy to pursue their individual interests.  Which was the majority of time.   

She started timing herself.  How many minutes a row took, how many rows in an inch, how many inches she could knit in an hour.  (Two.)  Maybe she could get her speed up.  She looked down at the needles, making sure she wouldn’t make a mistake as she tried to increase her speed.  Her head bowed low, staring at the yarn, the loops, concentrating on her hands, her fingers…

...she didn’t see the monster just outside in the parking lot.  Walking straight towards her.

\----

Earlier, Alex has received an urgent text and left Lena’s lab at L Corp.  Summoned by J’onn, via text.  

Remember that?

Hunting Eddie Carmichael.  Helping Lena figure out time travel.  Both were incredibly taxing.  Although nothing was more soul draining than watching her future self cart a limp and wounded Maggie out of Lena’s apartment.

Where did she take Maggie?  Straight to the DEO for care, that’s what I’d do.  And it was me doing it so she’s probably there.  But Alex didn’t know for sure.  So when she got the text calling her in, Alex flew out of the L Corp lab as fast as she could.  Leaving so fast, she forgot to kiss Lena goodbye.  

We all know how what kind of night that will lead to.

Alex arrived at the DEO exhausted.  Worried.  Headed straight to the situation room which was nearly empty.  Alex texted J’onn that she’d arrived.  As she waited for his reply, she realized it was the perfect time to sneak to sick bay and check on Maggie.

Rushing through hallways, keeping near the walls.  Looking casual, yet moving at a clip best described as a half sneak.  Just as she rounded the final turns toward the medical area she spotted someone.

Vasquez.  Lingering in the hallway.   Lighting up as soon as she spotted Alex.  Yes.  It was as if she’d been spotted.  As if Vasquez had been lying in wait for her.  Alex stopped dead in her tracks.  Vasquez did a similar half sneak towards Alex, who realized by her odd pace that something was definitely up.

Vasquez was face to face with Alex.  Nodded, indicating they should go back around the corner, where no one could see or hear.  Alex went along with it.

They both looked left.  They both looked right.  No one in sight.  It was Vasquez’s big moment.

“I can help you,” said Vasquez.  Her tone grave and important.  

Alex didn’t know what the fuck Vasquez was referring to and her face said as much.  Some of the wind left Vasquez’s sails and it showed.  She continued.  Determined.  

“I know you are working on a mission with Lena Luthor,” said Vasquez.  Alex’s face dropped.  FUCK.  

Vasquez wasn’t prepared for this.  For Alex’s obvious disappointment and dismay and distress at the thought of reading her in.  Vasquez was devastated.  She used her training to not let it show.  

“I have information that can help you,” said Vasquez.

“Then out with it,” demanded Alex.  Giving Vasquez a direct order.  Alex was her superior.  And Alex used it as freely as breathing air.  Vasquez had not expected that, either.  

“I’d like to be read in,” said Vasquez.  

Alex’s eyes blew wide with outrage.  

“I give you a direct order and instead of following it,” Alex’s voice dropped two octaves.  The next part came in a whisper hiss.  “...you’re trying to use whatever information you have as a bargaining chip?”

Vasquez had to make a strategic decision. Right here.  Right now.  Bargain.  Or obey.  Both had potential risks and rewards.  What Vasquez chose would color how Alex saw her for the rest of her career.  Was it time to boldness?  A tactical prowess previously unknown?  Or was now the time to show that she was a good soldier?  Reliable to the point of necessary.  

“J’onn is in the sick bay,” said Vasquez.

“Fine,” said Alex.  Started walking towards the medical bay again.  Vasquez grabbed Alex by the arm.  Firm.  Stopping her in her tracks.  Alex visibly shocked by the impunity of a subordinate putting hands on a superior.  Vasquez quickly explained.

“Disguised as Maggie,” clarified Vasquez.

Alex’s whole demeanor changed.  Whoa.  She almost walked into a trap.  Vasquez took her arm away.  Alex tried to process.  She didn’t know whether to feel guilty or mad.  Wondered why hadn’t she gone straight to J’onn for help?  So much had happened in so little time, she didn’t even know at this point.  On the one hand, Alex was indignant J’onn would use his shape-shifting abilities to trick her into giving information.  On the other hand, she had been sneaking around, purposefully avoiding J’onn.  Why have I been trying to single-handedly outwit unknown aliens hell bent on god only knows what?  Well, not single-handedly.  I’ve been working with Lena Luthor.  Oh.  Yeah.  That’s why I haven’t gone to J’onn.  I believe Lena and if he doesn’t...I can’t waste time trying to convince him about anything.  Time is of the essence.  Lena needs my help.  I saw her appear from the future.  I was with her.  I’ve got to get back to her.  That’s the mission.  And Vasquez just saved my ass.

“Got it,” said Alex.  

Vasquez nodded.  A “good luck” gesture.  Alex headed down the hall towards the ruse that was waiting for her.

Alex into Med Bay 4.  Maggie in bed, resting.  A giant bandage around the left side of her waist.  Eyes closed.  Bathed in soft healing light.  Although it didn’t regenerate and supercharge humans the way it did Supergirl, doctors quickly realized the sun mimicking attributes provided a placebo effect of being outdoors, the full spectrum lighting creating feelings of safety and happiness which did assist human healing.  

Alex approached the door and leaned against it, looking at Maggie with concern and sympathy.  And love.

As if sensing her former paramour’s arrival, Maggie’s eyes opened half mast.  

“Hey Danvers,” said Maggie her voice slightly weak.  “Fancy meeting you here.”  

Alex entered.  Sat next to the bed.  Took Maggie’s hand in hers.

“How are you?” asked Alex.

“Oh you know,” said Maggie.  “Lying down on the job, as usual.”  Gave Alex that signature Sawyer smirk.

“What happened?” asked Alex.  A gambit. Pretending to know nothing.  

“I was hoping you could tell me?” replied Maggie.  “I’ve obviously been shot...but I don’t have any memory of what happened,” said Maggie.

“That’s common with trauma,” said Alex, petting Maggie’s hand.  “The memories will come back with some rest.”

“You don’t know anything?” said Maggie, a bit more insistent.  A bit more energy behind her words.

Alex marveled at the Maggie before her.  So real.  So lifelike.  Her mirror image in every way.  A perfect double.

\-----

A lumbering beast had entered the animal hospital parking lot.  Headed straight for the glass doors.  Drawn towards the light within.  Starving.  It could smell...food.

THUD.

The rounded knitting needle tip jammed into the pad of Marilyn’s finger.  She looked up and saw it’s pitch black eyes, bigger than baseballs.   It’s nose, a long snout, had crashed against the glass of the door.  The beast looked like a giant possum.  Almost the size of a sedan, although it’s tail made it much longer.  It’s dirty animal claws were scratching at an incredible speed, working at the glass, it’s eyes locked on Marilyn.  Before she could even think, the animal, the beast, the monster, had put it’s paws against the glass.  Furiously scratching.  It had seen prey.  It’s food.  And was in pursuit. 

Marilyn screamed at the top of her lungs.  If the gigantic opossum creature had heard her, it didn’t seem to care one single bit.  Claws scraping at the glass barrier, undeterred.  Mentally in the zone that animals enter during the sex or feeding.  The beast was not going to stop until the act of eating was consummated.  Marilyn could tell all of this and it informed the tone and length of the scream emitting from her gaping mouth and frozen body.  Marilyn was in a primal state, also.  Fight.  Flight.  Freeze.  It was a combination of all three.  Frozen in place.  The limbic brain on overdrive.  A fight roar coming from her mouth.  Creating a distraction that hopefully would give the rest of the body time to flee.  

Her scream woke the doctor from his nap.  He was in the back medical room, napping on the operating table and his whole body shook awake in a flurry, not sure what had happened or what was happening.  Did he have a bad dream?  Was there an emergency?  The fact that he woke up alone made it seem like maybe he was having a bad dream.  Surely if something was wrong, someone would have personally woken him.

The nurse was in the other room, wearing noise cancelling headphones, listening to The Smiths and surfing the web.  She carried on as if nothing was happening.

The scream only served to incite the animal’s hunger and determination to enter.  Marilyn stood up, revealing that she was just a tasty morsel.  

The animal’s claws found their way into the metal door frame, warping it, opening a crack. Marilyn didn’t want to turn her back on this thing, however, realizing that she was a tasty morsel and seeing the beast’s hunger and determination to dine, and being that she was in a room with only two exits, one of which was being breached by some sort of monster, she had no choice but to take her chances, turn her back and run out of the lobby, towards the back hospital area.  Locking the door behind her.  Then running into the OR.  Seeing the doctor rubbing his eyes, not bothering to even tell him what was transpiring, just locking that door, as well.  They just looked at each other.  Technically he was her boss.  And he clearly wanted to know what was going on.  How could she possibly even begin to explain?  The ghost white look on her face, her fervor in locking the door behind her, her eyes wide like saucers, trembling, scanning the room, looking for another exit, looking for weapons.  He didn’t even ask.

And she didn’t realize she’d just ran by the office the nurse was in.  Didn’t alert her.  Didn’t try to save her or bring her to safety or even alert her.  None of that occured to Marilyn.  She was just running for her life.  Which was still in danger.  It was too late to do anything about the nurse.  Wait.  She could call 911.  Marilyn ran to one of the office phones.  Her hands and fingers trembling so much she could barely direct them to hit the right keys.  The doctor shouting “What?  What’s happening?” didn’t help matters.  

Marilyn ignored him.  Put all her energy into directing her index finger to the nine.  First it hit the seven.  She continued it towards the one button even though her brain knew it was in the middle of a failed sequence.  Her left hand sloppily hitting the plunger to end the call and begin again.  It took her four tries.  Being a doctor, he was used to people listening to him, answering him, obeying him.  He didn’t know he was used to this, it was just how things went.  Marilyn intentionally disregarding his questions was so unfamiliar it send a shiver down his spine.  Something was clearly, horribly wrong.

Meanwhile, the oversized rodent had pried the metal frame of the front door open, creating a crevasse that it’s skull finally fit through.  And when it comes to rodents, if the skull can fit, the rest of the body can be squeezed through like a tube of toothpaste, which is exactly what the beast did as it entered through the twisted and warped crack.  

It was nearly the size of the lobby.  Immediately it placed its claws on the desk, lurching its body up and over the reception area to find that delicious bit of moving flesh it had seen earlier.  And could still smell.  The snout sniffed with intensity.  Detecting three humans, four dogs and two cats, a bunny and even the deer that had been brought in last week.  So many delicious things to eat.   And the scent indicated they were all behind that door.  The door Marilyn had locked.  

This update gave the tail a life of its own.  Swishing this way and that.  Newly animated with the excitement of an impending feast.  Pushing magazines off end tables, swatting couch cushions, crashing lamps over and smashing holes in the tempered glass lobby windows.  Holes that looked like giant spider webs.  Or gunshots.  It was angry now.  There seemed to be even more food in here than it had seen.  And it was angry that food wasn’t already in it’s maw.

The doctor heard lamps crashing.  He ran to the door Marilyn locked.  It had a long glass window above the door handle so people could see in.  He looked down the hall towards the lobby.  That door was solid and still shut.  The doctor checked the lock, making sure Marilyn had turned it all the way.  What else could he do?

Marilyn had finally gotten through.

“911 - what’s the address of the emergency?”

“Jesus Christ send someone fast!  There’s something here that’s-”

“Ma’am, we need the address.  What is the-”

“It’s not human!  And it’s-”

The doctor grabbed the phone out of Marilyn’s hand.  Took over the call.  

“Give me the address.”

“1717 Wildwood road,” said the Doctor.  “Send help.”

“1717 Wildwood?”

“Yes.  Hurry.”

Marilyn dropped to the floor.  Relieved someone else was in control.  And yet she knew more than anyone that she still wasn’t safe.  The Doctor watched as Marilyn, sitting on her behind against the large square tiled floor, shuffled herself back until she was crammed into the furthest corner of the room.  Arms wrapped around her knees.  Holding herself close.  Looking shell shocked.  Looking like a child.  

“Sir, I’ve started a call.  What is the nature of the emergency?”

The doctor stared at Marilyn.  Then back at the door.  Wondering what was headed their way.

“I...I don’t know,” said the Doctor.

National City’s Emergency Services department and 911 operators were some of the best trained in the land.  For obvious reasons.  She’d already keyed in the address and send two squad cars.  At hearing this next bit, she coded it a 7009 - which meant possible alien encounter.  The system immediately routed three more squad cars towards Haz Mat.

And of course, the DEO also received notice.

\---

“What’s the last thing you remember?” asked Alex.  

It was a real chess game.  Not Lena level chess.  But close enough.  Alex knew J’onn was trying to extract information from her.  She’d been keeping secrets from him and he’d obviously had enough.  People were getting hurt.  Maggie almost got killed.  She didn’t know how to tell J’onn and certainly not when he was pretending to be her ex lover.  So she tried to buy time.

Maggie looked irritated, sat up a bit, wincing with pain as she did so.  “I honestly can’t say.  Not only was I shot, I hit my head.”  Alex saw a small lump on the back of Maggie’s head.  “Who brought me here?”

Before Alex could answer, her DEO issues smartphone issued an emergency signal, directing her to an situation critical at 1717 Wildwood Ave, West National.  She had to leave.

“I promise I’ll find out what happened to you,” said Alex.  “In the meantime, get some rest.”  

Maggie looked resigned.

Alex ran into the hallway where Vasquez stood.  She’d been waiting patiently.  Waiting for some type of reward.  

“Let’s go,” said Alex.  She’d bring Vasquez along.  Vasquez tried to not beam as they raced to their emergency vehicles.

\---

 

The creature approached the portal separating it from what would surely prove to be a sumptuous repast.  A heavy door separating the hospital from the lobby.  Solid wood with a heavy lock.  A door designed to keep people out of zones that needed to be sterile, pets that needed protection from thieves and poachers, medications with enormous resale value on the black market.  The lock on this door needed to do a serious job.  Tonight, the lock would have no value.  For just like any normal sized rodent, this one began its work, biting and scratching at the door’s base.  Claws and jaws tearing at the wood, tearing open a hole, quick and efficient, like several crowbars operating in unison.

911 wanted more information but the Doctor put the phone down and texted the nurse.  

*Intruder*  *lock yOur office*  *DON’T COME OUT*

The messages popped up on the nurses laptop.  She slipped her headphones off.  The night was eerily silent.  No screaming.  No gunfire.  No talking.  She stood up and clicked the lock on the door as silently as she could.  And that’s when she heard.  Scraping.  Animal scraping.  Animal breathing.  Heavy.  As a nurse specializing in animals, her intuition told her that this was a wild animal that had gotten loose.  She called Marilyn’s phone.  It rang helplessly on the reception desk, where she’d left it when she fled.

911 kept asking the Doctor questions, who relayed them to Marilyn.  Simple questions like “what’s happening?”  “Can you describe the emergency?”  Marilyn didn’t answer the questions.  They did bring her back to the here and now.  She ran to the door and looked through the window.  Saw that the rat had made quick work of the door.  It had squeezed into the hallway, filling it.  It stopped at the nurse’s office door.  Inspecting it with it’s wong wet snout, razor sharp teeth, beady dark eyes.  The fur on its belly was matted, muddy.   It was wild.  Powerful.  Determined.  Rabid.  

Marilyn had seen pictures of aliens in the newspaper.  Most of them looked like humans.  Or humanoid.  This didn’t seem like it was from outer space.  It just looked like an enormous rodent.  As if someone pointed a cartoon raygun at a common household pest and in one zap, enlarged it, engorging all of its features, it’s internal organs, stretching it’s skin, each of it’s fine hairs growing in diameter, now prickly and thick like straw, teeth growing from 

There were plenty of sites on the dark web that catalogued all the different alien species, naming them, claiming to have tagged them, tracking them, writing out their personal histories.  Some claimed they’d been trapped in an alien prison called Fort Rozz.  Marilyn read some of these accounts.  They were incredibly detailed.  So detailed it seemed like they could be true.  If they weren’t so utterly preposterous.  Marilyn knew there were trolls, people who had nothing better to do than type out the most outlandish stories on the internet solely to amuse strangers.  She wouldn’t be taken in by this sort of tomfoolery.  Although in this moment, a part of her wanted to check those illicit alien archives and see if this thing was on it.  Maybe it was, maybe if she’s read about it, maybe she’d know how to save that nurse.

Too late for that now.  Marilyn started pushing everything she could find against the door.  

The Doctor’s phone rang.  It was the nurse.  He answered without saying hello.  Simply saying, “Barricade yourself inside.”  It wasn’t a suggestion.  It wasn’t an order.  It wasn’t a guarantee of safety.  It was a do what you can to save yourself.

The beast smelled the promise of flesh.   Of carrion.  Of satiation and satisfaction.  The rat’s claws knocking the doorknob clean off as if it were paper.  This door wasn’t like the other one.  It was designed to shield eyes from seeing brooms and the like.  Thin with a hollow core.  

The nurse watched from inside, the doorknob fling right off.  Hearing horrific noises.  Heavy breath through snouts.  A five inch animal claw punctured the door.  The nurse took heed.  Pushed the desk against the door.  Stacking both chairs on top, as larger than life claws shredded thin plywood.  Suddenly, it’s entire head pushed through.  Snarling.  Hot breath of disease and desire filling the room.  Long dark snout, grotesquely shoving its way through a makeshift hole of metal chair legs.  Pushing towards its prey, the nurse.  Biting and snapping at her, trying to kill and eat her.  Twisting and wringing its neck fervently.  To reach and tear at tasty flesh.  

She pressed her body against the back wall.  Snout flaring nostrils mere inches from her, taking in her scent.  Musky exhales landing on her skin.  Teeth bared.  Jaw snapping.  Gnarling.  Pushing itself towards her.  The nurse saw the clear signs of rabies in the saliva. 

The desk had angled and creating a wedge, provided her with the inches with which she could stand without being crushed, without being reached.  The massive rodent kept on.  The metal legs of the desk dug and dragged into and across the tile floor, creaking a massive squeaking squealing noise.  The nurse couldn’t tell if she wasn’t hearing her own internal terror.  For as it pushed towards her, the desk started to crush.  Crumpling under the animal’s weight.  Snout coming within biting range.  She screamed at the top of her lungs, turning her face.  With her arms jammed against her sides (lest they might be bitten off in an act of hapless flailing), the nurse turned her face against the wall and let out a blood curdling scream.  

The doctor and nurse heard it and looked at the barricade.  Which suddenly seemed hopelessly inadequate.  

Then suddenly a deep thud then two soft sounds.  Zip.  Zip.  Two probes from NCPD taser X2 Stun Guns punctured the creature from behind, landing in its haunches.  Immediately the officers shot off another two more rounds.  Zip.  Zip.  The creature stopped advancing.  The nurse opened her eyes and saw the beast pause.  Contemplate.  Then wriggle quicker than lightning out of the hole and into the hallway.  Clearly, there were other matters that needed its attention.  It turned itself around, raced back into the lobby with ease (the officers had knocked the door open.  The three officers in the lobby firing live rounds into the creature’s body.  Its thick fur and flesh acting like armor.  Tail whipping into one like a sword, slicing through both uniform and flesh.  Mouth grabbing another officer’s neck, ripping the jugular, instant death, whipping his body to and fro, blood spraying and smearing everywhere, his limbs knocking the remaining officer over as he attempted to escape, feet slipping on blood like banana peels in a grotesquely comic scene.

This is what Alex and Vasquez saw as they exited the car and headed toward the lobby.  A gigantic gerbil in type of glass cage match, which it was handily winning.  

Alex gabbed a new weapon from the trunk.  A long range blaster with an electric current powerful enough to stop a bus traveling towards it at 60mph.  She’d spent weeks training with it, training her body to remain stable as the weapon discharged.  She ran towards the scene, and when she was within range, she planted her feet, looked into the weapon’s scope, leaned forward at a 60 degree angle, and fired.  

A two shock waves three inches wide, twisting like a translucent blue rope, stretched from the weapon, breaking through a glass window and into the temple of the animal’s head.  Eyes rolling behind its head, it’s entire body tensing up as it’s jaw opened, and an officer’s torn limb (arm) fell out of it.  It was an instant lobotomy that turned into an entire shutdown of the central nervous system.  Alex held the shock waves steady until the animal short circuited and expired.  Alex turned the weapon off.  The wave disappeared.  Alex threw her right foot out to catch her from falling forward.  The animal fell to the floor in a heap.  

Several other officers appeared from behind their squad cars.  They’d been on scene and realized the only thing they could do was hide.  One ran towards Alex.  Explaining how their weapons had no effect.  That there were still hostages inside.  

Alex reached the lobby.  Vasquez at her heels.  They saw hundreds of shell casings on the ground.  And three dead police officers.  Clearly, human weapons had no effect.  Alex slung the weapon over her left shoulder as other DEO agents entered the lobby trying to take vitals from the fallen officers.  Alex knew they were long gone.  Instead she surveyed the lobby and the gargantuan rodent inside.

“What in the hell?” said Vasquez.  

The question was clear.  What was this creature?  How did it get so big?  Where did it come from?  How many more were there?  Alex knew rats lived in colonies.  If this was an infestation...

Alex turned the scene over to the second in command.  Instructed him to initiate quarantine protocol, ordered the civilians be rescued, samples collected, the giant animal carcass transported to the DEO for examination, the deceased officers turned over to their National City morgue for processing.  

Vasquez marveled at how quickly Agent Danvers could contain, assess and lead in the field.  This was what she wanted.  Working alongside Alex.  This is where she’d prove her mettle.  Vasquez watched closely as Alex looked around, surveying the parking lot.  The asphalt.  Vasquez took a cue.  They were tracking.  Alex spotted the oversized muddy tracks entering the parking lot from the west.  Both of their eyes continued in that direction, looking over the highway and past the soft rolling hills.  

Landing on two blinking red lights in the sky.  Two small blinking red lights atop each of the cooling towers of the abandoned power plant.  Turned on every night to identify the structures to low flying aircraft.  Nothing more needed to be said.  Alex and Vasquez began tracking.  

Walking towards the powerplant.  Finding and following footsteps and scents.  Flashlights sweeping the ground before them.  Illuminating patches of crushed grass and broken twigs.  Less than a mile later, they reached the crest of a soft hill and the power plant was in full view.  Like an abandoned castle, half futuristic and half medieval in design, the plant was an ominous structure rife with history.  Of powerful people, plans and near tragic outcomes.  

The DEO took weekly radiation reports on this structure and although it was perfectly safe for humans, animals, birds, insects, plants and water - those reports were never released to the public.  It was still private property and the board members and city officials alike both agreed it was better to have the place devoid of people than miscreants or mafia claim it as their newest hangout.  Or hideout, depending.

Danvers and Vasquez reached a small access road with a chain mounted on two poles slung across it.  Deterring vehicles.  The creature would have crossed this with ease.  They each stepped over the chain and picked up the tracks again a hundred meters north, in some tall grasses on the roadside.  The trail led them around the vast, curvature of the southeast cooling tower.  As they walked, in the darkness, their lamps illuminating ten feet in front of them, just darkness and the same, never ending, concave concrete wall.  Which was unnerving.  For no matter how far forward they traveled,, the view didn’t change.  A never ending opportunity to be surprised by something just around the bend.  Both of them filled with dread that they swallowed and kept to themselves.  

Finally the tracks veered towards an auxiliary reactor building, short and stout.  The animals path wound around the back and the suddenly the ground was swampy and damp.  Their feet sloshed and sank inches into the earth, the layer of grass preventing their feet from being completely swallowed.  

“Why was this area so wet?  It hasn’t rained in two weeks,” mused Alex out loud.  Vasquez had no clue.  They both pointed their flashlights from the swampy mess towards the building, landing on a rusty ventilation grate that had been pushed open from the inside.  Just open enough for a giant rat type creature to squeeze it’s head through.  

Alex took a step towards the grate.  Slipped in the soft mud.  Stumbled.  Caught herself with her left hand, which jammed into the terra wetta, catching her fall.  Pushing down to push herself up, the side of her palm lightly grazed something submerged in the mud.

“Fuck,” said Alex.  Lifting her hand up.  Wiping the mud on her pants.  Then using her flashlight to check.  It was a cut, but not deep.  

“Are you okay?” said Vasquez.

“Yeah,” said Alex, turning her flashlight down to see what nicked her, using her feet to kick around the mud.  Striking something hard and hollow, the flashlight quickly revealed it was a rusty tin can.

Alex remembered.

“You need a tetanus shot,” said Vasquez.  “They’ll have one at the hospital.  I’ll radio our location in and have them-”

“NO.  DON’T,” shouted Alex.  Her mind suddenly racing.  Looking paranoid.  “Just, uh...stay there.”  Alex walked twenty yards away, keeping an eye on Vasquez, on the grate, on the reactor, on the access road, making sure they were alone and that no one, not even Vasquez, could hear her.

She pulled out her phone and called Lena.

\---

Lena’s phone rang.  It was Alex.  She answered immediately.

“Alex,” said Lena.

“Hey,” said Alex, standing in the middle of the field, in the middle of the night, staring at a defunct nuclear reactor, in the middle of the night, after killing a deadly, rhinoceros sized rodent.  With Vasquez tagging along.  How was she going to explain?

“I think...I think you just solved time travel?” asked Alex.

“How did you know?” asked Lena.

“Um.  You told me?”  said Alex.

“When?”  said Lena.

“A couple of days ago.  At dinner,” said Alex.  “You said I’d cut myself on a rusty tin can and that very thing just happened.”

“Oh,” said Lena.  As if she was following everything precisely.  Which she wasn’t.  “I guess I was right?”  

Alex realized what Lena was saying.  But she needed her to say it.

“So...you did it?” asked Alex.

“I did,” said Lena.

“Lena,” said Alex, “...you are god damn brilliant.” 

As Alex said the words, Lena held the phone to her ear while taking in the scene before her.  For in the middle of what was normally a very busy street, but currently abandoned due to the late hour, was Alice Champion.  Sitting on her ass and laughing hysterically.  For just like Alex, Alice had also just learned that Lena had solved time travel.  Unlike Alex, (unlike present day Alex) Alice had also taken her first time travel journey.  She’d traveled back in time with Lena to, well, right now.  Alice began wiping away tears from her face, trying to compose herself.

“I’m still working out a few kinks,” said Lena.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was wondering why no one commented on this chapter - maybe because no one read it? Yikes. You guys are so good to me, sorry for the mess up. I obv got too drunk at Scavenger's house last weekend.


	21. Chapter 21

He hit the snooze button a minimum four times before getting out of bed.  That was standard.  Fridays he went to five, six, sometimes even seven.  This Friday morning, however, he leaped out of bed at the first chime.  Was taking the day off.  A little weekend getaway.  To curb the stress.  To refresh.  As you now, he’d been working two jobs lately.  One for Lena.  The other for Lillian.  One he got paid for and paid taxes out of those earnings.  The other he did in secret, receiving untraceable cash payments which he self laundered through the purchase of toys and trinkets that he kept hidden all over his condo.  Purchases the IRS couldn’t track.  Purchases that most people couldn’t see.  Sanjay made sure to never wear a Rolex to work.  Never with the Gucci loafers at client dinners.  Vigilant in keeping his two lives separate.  

Two lives.  During the day he was a nerd.  An MIT graduate working for former classmate and friend Lena Luthor.  At night, he was someone else entirely.  Went to the clubs.  There he was a baller.  There he made it rain.  Gave himself a nickname, always paid in cash.   The chicks ate it up.  He did too, feeling a bit like Bruce Wayne.  The ladies he took home called his condo the Bat Cave, tricked out with every electronic money could buy.  He never had a girlfriend for more than a couple of dates.  Stopped calling them and they stopped calling him.  Is it ghosting if it’s mutual?  Conversation petering out after a week or two.  The girls he met weren’t educated like he was, they weren’t nerds, and even if he could discuss what he did for either of the Luthor women, would they even understand?  The science?  The consequences?  After each “relationship” ran its course, Sanjay parlayed this into a “love them and leave them” mystique.  Which made him attractive to the next batch of new girls came onto the scene.  

Work was no solace.  No source of companionship.  Despite being around his peers and equals, he had to keep his coworkers at a serious distance.  He told coworkers he had a girlfriend.  Upstate. They were on again off again.   Which was why he kept her off of his social media.  This murky status kept questions about his romantic life to a minimum.  Everyone assumed that he was in turmoil.  Didn’t want to make him feel bad.  Sore subject.  They weren’t wrong.  It was a sore subject.  He was alone and without a romantic partner, even without friends.  

The people at L Corp were smart.  They could put the pieces together.  Figure him out.  Figure it all out.  His lies.  His crimes.  They needed to be kept in the dark most of all.  While at L Corp, while at his legitimate job, the one he earned on merit and hard work, the one that was legal and above board...that’s where he had to wear the mask.  Unaccustomed to wearing masks, he chose one in haste.  Didn’t realize he’d be living in it.  Forgot to include proper ventilation.  It was suffocating.  He needed oxygen.  

Straight into the shower.  Shaved over the sink, towel around his waist.  He was fit.  Inability to form real relationships made him more than a bit of a loner.  Spent a lot of time filling his time.  Finding places to go where he could be alone.  The gym is a great place for that.   Around people, under headphones, solitary in a public space, it fit the bill.  All the other lonelies are there.  Group activities (spin classes, kickboxing), solo stuff like free weights, running machines.  Participation without interaction.  Getting fit was simply a byproduct.  As if through osmosis, he picked up on diet and fitness tips the other gym rats bantered about.  Cut down sugars and carbs, upped healthy fats and proteins.  Might as well go full on.  Arm days.  Leg days.  Abs.  Cardio.  Within six months he was cut.  Still dropping cash.  Expensive haircuts.  Facials.  Massages.  Manscaping.  More abs.  More girls.  More empty relationships.  More loneliness.  He blow dried his hair.  Looking at himself in the mirror.  Who was looking back at him?  The mask?  Or the man?  He didn’t know anymore.  Started dressing.

Not all of his time was spent at the gym.  Sometimes he went shopping.  Finding and funding expensive hobbies like drones, radio controlled planes and, of course, his most beloved hobby.  The one he’d be indulging in today.

Performance fabric boxer briefs, compression riding socks, black kevlar jeans.  Took a moment to decide on the shirt.   Spoiled for choice with an array of classic concert tees.  Motley Crue.  Guns N Roses.  He wanted a cool look.  Maybe he’d meet a girl.  That was always his hope.  To finally meet someone.  Someone special.  He’d gave up on meeting a soulmate long ago.  That seemed...inconceivable at this point.  Why though?  Fingers grazing over graphic t shirts, each one a great ice breaker.  Instant conversation starter.  Then he realized.  It was a risky choice.  Fuck it.  Decided that he more than deserved some attention.  Pulled it off the hanger, stuck his head and arms through.  Perfect fit.

The door of Sanjay’s condominium parking garage opened.  A 2013 red and black Ducati Hyperstrada, pulled out, Sanjay straddling it.  Wearing top of the line helmet, gloves, jacket and boots.  All black with red pinstripe details.  A top case on the back of the bike packed with the minimal amount of clothes and toiletries for a weekend getaway.

After twenty minutes carefully weaving between rows of cars trapped in a morning commuter traffic, he soon found himself on the National Highway 101, heading up the coast.  There was no need to speed.  Just being on the open road, wind flowing past every inch of his body, it felt like flying.  Open road.  Open air.  It felt like oxygen.  Blue skies surrounding him.  Wind blasting around his limbs.  Was this how Superman felt?  When he was in the air?  Faster than a speeding bullet.  Sanjay pulled the clutch, kicked it into high gear, twisted the throttle and let go.  Speeding forward.  Feeling rebellious.  Powerful.  Free.  A day off from work can do that to a person!

 

\---

Motorola Razr.  Old School flip phone.  No wifi.  No apps.  No tracking.  A Burner.  Ringer never on.  Vibrate only.  On his nightstand.  Started buzzing.  Sanjay was in the bathroom drying his hair.  Didn’t hear it.  The phone kept buzzing, and with each buzz, vibrations made the phone dance a bit, bumping and shaking it’s way towards the edge.  Five rings.  Ten rings.  Fourteen rings.  And then poof.  Over the edge.  Straight down to the ground.  Landing under the bed, on the soft carpet.  It kept buzzing.  Even after Sanjay stopped with the hair dryer.  Even after he was back in the bedroom searching for clothes, he couldn’t hear it.  Dressing.  Packing.  Couldn’t see it.  Out of sight, out of mind.  An hour later, the phone started buzzing again.  Sanjay was 50 miles away.  

\-----

Lilian hung up.

It wasn’t just her waiting on the other end.  The entire group was there.  Waiting.  These people weren’t used to waiting.  Weren’t used to people not answering their calls.  And certainly weren’t used to being held hostage by the work of one employee.  But in order to create a time travel machine with the capacity to transport a nuclear weapon back in time, they needed the alien compound her daughter had stolen.  They needed Sanjay.  

The fact that Sanjay wasn’t answering Lillian’s calls made the group irate.

Mr. Green stood up with fire in his belly, and pointed at Lillian with an accusatory finger, “You PROMISED us results.  I want those aliens GONE!”  

Everyone looked on in furious agreement.  

Everyone except one.

In the back of the room, sitting in a chair away from the group, indicating his status of “other” was Eddie Carmichael.  Hearing these humans plotting the genocide of aliens right in front of him?  Such hubris.  Didn’t they realize they needed an alien’s help, HIS help, to do all of this? And yet they treated him like he was invisible.  Like he was a common criminal.  Like he beneath them.  

He wished he had powers.  Like the other Kryptonians on Earth.  He rued the fact that he didn’t.  If he did, he’d be like God.  Just like Supergirl.  Just like Superman.  He’d rule on this Earth.  Eddie’s face.  Bitter regret of the past.  Dark ambitions for his future.  He rubbed his wrists.  

 

Look closely at those wrists of his.  Deformed.  Deep circular indentations on each.  Corduroy like grooves.  From a special cuffs he wore while trapped in Fort Rozz.  

He’d tried to escape from Fort Rozz several times.  Came very close on two occasions.  Which  activated a device the creators of Ft. Rozz never expected would be used.  Special restraints.  Kryptonite cuffs.  Eddie wore them for decades.  Draining him to a mere shell of what he once was.  The constant exposure permanently stripping him of his Kryptonian powers.  Robbing him.  Reducing him.  No one hated Fort Rozz more than Eddie.  It hasn’t just confined him.  It changed him forever.  It broke every part of him except his mind.  

Luckily, his mind was the best part of him.  And he was going to use it to destroy that prison.  And just before destroying it, he would escape from it.  He needed the group as much as they needed him.  Eddie held his tongue.

The group started moaning and grumbling.  Other voices chimed in.

“One of them robbed four of my banks last week!”  He was speaking about Psi.  “They need to be destroyed!”  

Still another voice cried out, “What is the point of having a nuclear reactor if we aren’t going to use it!”  

Lillian had already traveled back in time.  Assembled this group.  Pitched the idea.  Got the buy in.  Of the board.  Of the people.  Of the city.  Together they built a nuclear reactor right on the outskirts of the city.  Feigned a problem with the plant, one that “shut it down” permanently.  This allowed them to continue their nuclear experiments in secret.  Keeping the public, the press and the private sectors out of their business.  Their secret business of killing aliens.  

Although most of the members of this secret group were captains of industry, the “failure” of the power plant was seen as a smear on their previously unblemished records.  They each were suffering public disgrace.  It was the price needed to pay in order to fulfill on their plans.  Once they realized that time travel was real, was attainable, they set to formulate on the best method of using time travel to solve what they considered the world’s number one threat.  Alien Infestation.  It didn’t take long for these professional problem solvers to determine that the best way was to destroy the source.   A nuclear attack on Fort Rozz.  Before it enters the atmosphere.  And the best way to control the nuclear attack was to be in control of the weapon.  Which meant building their own facility.  What better way to keep it secret than through it’s very public failure.  Which was a success.  No one suspected a thing.  And they were fine at their dip in social status, at the dip in stock prices.  They knew that once they solved the alien problem, they would be the most influential, most revered people on the planet.  Saviors.  Humanitarians in the truest sense of the word.  The most pro-human group ever.  

And yet, the human ego can only take so many blows.  They were getting itchy.  Aliens seemed to be wreaking havoc every week.  With Supergirl their only hope.  Now that the solution to all of this seemed to be in their grasp, their need to speed up the timeline, their need to have it done NOW was growing, and had grown and they seemed to be at a breaking point.

Lillian had an innate sense of group dynamics.  Especially for those unspoken moments where the energy of secret thoughts and desires for new leadership starting circulating.  It was as if she could see it.  The energy.  Of a coup.  Rippling before her.  

She kept her voice smooth as butter.

“I feel the exact same way,” said Lillian.  “Which is why, just yesterday, I took measures to address this very issue.”  

This captured the group's interest.  She made it seem she was one step ahead of them.  Had already identified the problem.  Had already solved it.  That’s why she was the leader.  

They waited, looking suspicious, wondering what exactly these measures were.  

“Yesterday, I took another journey back in time…” said Lillian.

The group gasped.  

She’d performed many time travel experiments since those initial ones in Mr. Green’s barn.  Time travel in its current state was proven to create adverse neural network mapping in the brain.  Still, Lillian had already taken three time travel journeys.  That she’d embarked on a fourth in service to the cause was both terrifying and inspiring.  They were angry and in awe.  Hopeful and full of dread.  

And no one was more full of dread than Ed.  He knew it was a lie.  He also knew it was a lie Lillian was planning on making true.  Despite the risks.

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine,” Lillian said.  She looked at them with piercing eyes.  Laser focu.  “As are my faculties.”  As commanding and in charge as ever.  “I can assure you the project is not only on track...it will be complete in the next 48 hours.”  

Lillian didn’t care about lies.  Lies were tools.  That helped her shape reality, create outcomes.  Lies were necessary.  Especially around the weak and fearful.  Which she found were traits that ran most people’s lives.  They needed to be lied to.  They welcomed the lies.  They demanded it, frankly.  And as she said it, she realized another trip back in time was exactly what was needed.  Was it a lie if she went back in time and made it true, thus erasing the lie from the timeline?   Reader, you know Lillian doesn’t concern herself with questions of morality.

Eddie saw it in Lillian’s eyes.  She got “that look” to her before each a time travel journey.  They fought about it each one.  Somehow he was able to make her promise, swear on her son’s life, that she wouldn’t do it again.  Not until they figured out the isotope which allowed for stabilized time travel.  Without it, it was too risky.  Since when did Lillian ever care about risk?  

As he looked into Lillian’s eyes, and saw the new plan, Eddie’s heart sank.  He didn’t care if Lillian time traveled herself into insanity.  Hell, she was half way there when he met her.   He simply didn’t want her to completely lose the plot before they pulled off their plot.  After Fort Rozz was destroyed, he envisioned Lillian being locked up in a mental hospital.  Having saved the entire planet from infestation and no one knowing it.  Instead, locking her up, locking her away, a crazy lady, muttering to herself, alone in an antiseptic corridor, with the occasional visit from her daughter, the last Luthor still walking the streets.  Eddie thought that would be a very fitting ending to the story.

\----

Sanjay pulled over for some coffee.  He’d gone 100 miles on his journey.  Used the loo.  Read a local paper.  Peeked into shop windows.  Lovely seaside village full of hippies, artisans and the uber wealthy.  Got back on the bike and decided to press on another.  Another 200 miles up the coast.  Late lunch at a roadside fish shack.  The owner was the cook and the waiter.  Slid over a plastic basket with paper with two fish tacos.  Grilled whitefish, with cumin, lime, garlic, chili powder and some raw cabbage for some crunch.  Delicious.  The owner talked about local economy and how things slow down this time of year and his boys who used to help run the place and his dreams of having shacks all up and down the coast but since the boys wanted to be software developers instead of working the restaurant, his dream would never be.  Sanjay wanted to tell the owner that he wasn’t in charge of those boys, they had their own lives to live and could do whatever they wanted and what right did he have to tell them what to do with the rest of their lives.  Sanjay’s blood was boiling.   He didn’t know it was all at Lillian.  Who was controlling his life through her time travel trips.

Sanjay could feel the memories of himself, from the other timeline.  The one he’d lived before LIllian came into the picture.  In that life Sanjay was happy.  He was working for one of his best friends.  He’d met a girl as soon as he moved to National City, Yasmine Ahmadi, a stunning PhD candidate, doctorate in Pharmacy.  They moved into together with a year of knowing each other.  Got a yorkie named Jasper.  Domestic bliss.   Yasmine’s family was big and boisterous and took Sanjay into the fold with open arms.  Yasmine had two older brothers, Javad and Zand.  They both harassed and protected Sanjay.  

To make matters “worse”, Yasmine’s parents, Leila and Azar, two retired aerospace engineers with too much time on their hands, and with their elder children already with children (another on the way for Amir and his wife Sheila), naturally they turned their focus towards their youngest and her future.  And since Sanjay seemed to be that future, they were always in Sanjay’s business, pestering him with questions about his work and his future with their daughter.  Wondering how many children he would have and and would he buy a house on their street if one were to come available because children need to be near their grandparents and how much money he would need to make in order for Yasmine to be a stay at home mother, which was not something Yasmine wanted but that never stopped them from bringing the topic up and telling Sanjay that he could be a millionaire if he could just come up with ONE product for Lena Luthor to license and manufacture.  Sanjay would always reply, “I’m already a millionaire with Yasmine by my side.”  Azar would scream out, “Then where is her ring!?  Surely a millionaire like yourself could afford to buy a great big stone to show the world how much in love you are!”  

Somehow all of the badgering and harassment he endured in that home made Sanjay feel safe..  Protected.  Included.  The Ahmadi’s had taken over Sanjay’s entire life and he loved every minute of it. They insisted he and Yasmine eat dinner with them twice a week and for a  the monthly Sunday supper where attendance was mandatory for all children and grandchildren.  Sanjay loved being bossed around by these kooks.  There was so much life in that home.  After his parents died, Sanjay’s mother died a year after cancer took his dad, this new family was a gift from God and Yasmine his perfect partner in every way.  She was smarter than him.  Not book wise.  Emotionally.  She knew what she needed and what he needed.  He grew to trust her, to just go with the flow, not question things, do what was asked of him.  Whether it was get groceries on the way home or drop something off that Leila needed or attend one of the grandchildren’s recitals, he found that this new way of life...made him happy.  Wildly happy.  

In fact, Sanjay had just asked for Azar for permission to wed Yasmine.  It happened in the backyard one balmy summer night.  Sanjay swung by after work.  Yasmine was out of town at a conference.  Tears fell from Azar’s eyes.  Sanjay had not expected this.  His own parents loved him.  Very much.  They were more naturally stoic.  Seeing the powerful Azar, who was like a King and a God to his children, weeping with overwhelm and gratitude…  His whole life had been dedicated to making sure his children were happier than him.  Marrying off his daughter to the right man was the last box to check off.  All the years of study and work, immigrating to a new land, learning a new language, escaping a brutal regime, enduring all of that and more, had suddenly all been worth it.  Azar had achieved his dream.  

Leila rubbed and patted her husband’s back, not speaking, just soothing him until he could find the words.  He wiped the tear from his eyes.  Stood up and hugged Sanjay.  Officially welcoming him to the family.  Then immediately pestering Sanjay with questions of when he would propose.  He wasn’t sure. Wanted to make sure it was special.  “Don’t wait too long!” shouted Azar.  Leila confided to Sanjay, “He’s not good with secrets.”  “That’s not it!” said Azar, who started laughing knowing that was exactly it.  Yasmine sensed that something had changed.  Couldn’t put her finger on it.  It’s hard to notice something that is the absence of a thing.  Azar’s pestering of Sanjay ceased.  Sanjay also noticed, her brother’s stopped punching him in the shoulder.  Azar must have told them.  Knew he’d need to buy a ring fast before this family spilled the goods with their weird behavior.  

Sanjay had Jess put him on Lena’s calendar.  A ten minute appointment.  

“Sanjay?  You don’t need an appointment to see me.  Just come up!”  said Lena, welcoming him with open arms.  

Sanjay reminded Lena that she was a busy lady who was often not in the building  or was in a board meeting,  or, or, or…  Sanjay seemed so nervous and Lena pointed it out and asked him what was happening and before she could really worry Sanjay revealed the news and asked her advice on who was a good jeweler in town.  Lena hugged him and wrote down the name of the best jeweler in town, told Sanjay to mention her name.  Sanjay flatly refused.   FLAT.  He knew Lena and knew she’d foot the entire bill as an engagement present and told her expressly not to do this.  He needed to pay for this with his own money. 

“I need this ring to be from me.  Completely from me.  To her,” said Sanjay.  Lena smiled.  So proud of her friend. 

“I’m getting you a wedding present,” replied Lena.  It was a promise.  

Sanjay smiled.  “I already know what I want - two weeks off work for the honeymoon.”

Lena scrunched up her face, indicating - are you out of your mind?  “I’m running a place of business here, don’t get greedy.”   They knew they were just playing.  They hugged and Jess called to inform Lena her next appointment was waiting outside.

That night, Sanjay bought the ring.  Used another ring in Yasmine’s jewelry box to size it.  Took it home with him.  Found the perfect hiding place - inside the box of mementos that he’d collected after his mother passed.  An old cigar box with their passports, their rings, some photos, a letter his father wrote before he died.  This box lived inside another box at the top of Sanjay’s closet as he debated where and when.  Somewhere romantic.  Somewhere meaningful.  There were times they were just laying on the couch in their pajamas where everything felt so perfect that he wanted to run and get the ring right then and there.  Tell her, show her how much he loved her.  For forever.

Yasmine, Azar, Leila.  Sanjay’s cells burned.  In this life, he never met any of them.  This new life was owned by Lillian Luthor.  No love.  Just material things and secret agendas.  The memories of his life with the Ahmadi family, however, lingered.  Not in his brain, but in his blood, in his muscles, in his nerve endings.  He carried this other life everywhere he went.  On some level, he knew what he was missing.  He knew what life could be.  

That other life, the life of purpose and fulfillment and partnership seemed to be beyond an invisible barrier.  One he couldn’t see or touch with his eyes.  One he couldn’t get to or cross no matter what he did.  He felt like his destiny had completely eluded him.  A lingering sense of failure and loss deep in his bones.  

Why did he feel like he already failed at life?  He was still young.  It wasn’t too late for him.  He got up while the owner of the fish shack was still rambling on about what could have been.  Put a twenty down on the table, hopped back on his bike.  Determined to arrive at his destination on time.  The bustling city of Parkland, 500 miles north.  

\----

Anxiety quelled, the group made a pact to meet in 48 hours time.  Dispersed.  Lillian and Eddie last to leave.  Her striding towards the exit without looking at him, without acknowledging she needed him to operate the machine to fulfill on her promise.

“Lillian...” said Eddie.  His tone far too familiar for Lillian’s taste.  Lacking Respect.  Implying obligation.  As if he had a scintilla of control over her.  She detested the impunity of anyone speaking to her in this way.  

Especially an alien.

She spoke without turning round to face him.

“What is it, Edward?”

“You know exactly what IT is,” Eddie replied.

“I’m not going to take another time travel trip, if that’s what you’re referring to,” said Lillian.  

Eddie was shocked.  

“That’s what they needed to hear and so that’s what I told them,” said Lillian.

Eddie was both confused and soothed.  Was her lie...actually just a lie?  I mean, for Lilian, it tracked.  Could Lillian be trusted to simply lie?  Nothing was ever simple with the Luthor matriarch.

“I have every faith that Sanjay is on the cusp of decoding the isotope,” explained Lillian. 

She checked her watch, indicating it could happen literally at any moment.  

“Relax, Eddie.  Enjoy the day.  You’ve been working hard.  Too hard,” said Lilian.  “I’ll let you know the moment I hear from him.”  

It was exactly what he’d been hoping she’d say, which was unnerving and comforting.  I’m telling you, she had a knack for this type of thing.  Eddie left without another word, crossing in front of Lillian.  Walking out on her.  What did it matter what Lillian said.  Whether she was lying or not.   

He’d taken measures, too.

\-----

That night, Lillian was in Candyman’s barn.   With the time machine.  Without Eddie.  

The moment she heard Eddie’s tone of voice, his impertinence, Lillian decided that her and Eddie’s “partnership” had come to an end.  She was very decisive like that.  Eddie had designs above his station.  Time for Lillian to become autonomous.  Eliminate him entirely from the plan.  Then from the Earth.  Sometimes all it took was the wrong tone of voice for Lillian to sign a death warrant.  Especially when it came to aliens.

In the barn with her were the two people Lillian selected to figure out how to operate the time machine.  One was a trusted bodyguard.  The other a rising star at Cadmus.  A young scientist whose fiance had been killed.  Collateral damage during a street fight between Supergirl and Psi.  Shrapnel cut an artery.  Infection.  Death.

His death of her fiance turned her dark.  Devastated by the loss.  A pain deeper than events could explain.  It was like she lost her entire future.  Not once but twice.  A double agony.  It was like she was in the middle of a perpetual bad joke.  One where no matter what she did, her true love would be snatched away from her.  In grief, in defiance, she quit her pharmacy program, distanced herself from her family and dedicated her life to a new aim.  If she could get rid of these aliens, maybe she could also rid herself of this curse she felt burdened with.  Lillian happily took Yasmine under her wing.  Brought her into the Cadmus family.

Lillian supervised as Yasmine read instructions from her computer to the goon standing at the machine.  He pulled and clicked controls according to the verbal commands.  Everything going smoothly until suddenly - a death bolt of electricity, burning him from the inside.  He fell to the floor, still buzzing and jerking like a fish out of water, then nothing.  

The room was filled with the stench of charred flesh and electricity.  Yasmine’s heart was in her throat.  Had she done something wrong?  Miscalculated?  Misread?  Caused his death?  

Lillian put her hand on Yasmine’s shoulder.  

“It wasn’t you, my dear.  That…” said Lillian, “was a booby trap.”  

Lillian realized instantly Eddie had configured the machine with a mechanism to kill anyone other than him who tried to operate it.  Lillian’s eyes.  Chagrin.  Yet impressed.  Her other bodyguard, standing nearby, didn’t even need to be told.  He called the clean up crew to for body collection and disposal.  

Yasmine knew that an alien had created this machine.  And she doubled down on her hatred and commitment to eradicating them.

“I can figure out how to dismantle it,” said Yasmine.  “I’ve seen the force it emits, can reverse engineer a solution based on the calculated voltage…”  

Coldly moving on from the death on the floor in front of them and back to the task at hand.  Looking at Lillian with the fiendish determination of a mastermind and the desperate wanting to please of a child.  Desperate and determined to change things.

Lillian Luthor was the only one who talked about change on the scale that Yasmine needed and so it was easy to be loyal to Lillian.  In return, Lillian sometimes treated Yasmine like the daughter she never had.  

Reader, Lillian never truly had Lena.  Lena was always trying to carve her own path.  A path away from Lillian.  Yasmine, on the other hand, felt a pull towards Lillian that couldn’t be explained.  Somehow knowing that she needed to be as close as possible to the Luthor matriarch.  As if Yasmine’s life and destiny was tied to helping Lillian. 

“Do it,” said Lillian.

Yasmine lit up.  Turned to her computer and began calculations.  Neither of the women knowing the real roots of their connection.  In other timeline.

\-----

The cafe was warmly lit.  Dark wood walls.  Iron chandeliers.  Tufted black leather booths.  Stone tables.  Sanjay arrived at 8:10.  Ten minutes late.  Luckily his reservation was still open.  He carried his helmet with him.  The hostess noticed.  He liked that.  She seated him at the bar.  

Bartender immediately puts down a napkin.  Dark hair, dark features.  Exactly the type of girl he could picture marrying.  Sanjay gave her a big smile.  She was too busy to flirt.  Gave a perfunctory smile back and asked for his drink order.  He hadn’t thought out what type of drink would indicate the level of cool he was trying to display.  Ordered a pale ale.  She turned her back.  A waiter appeared beside him.  Led him through the specials.  Ordered oxtail dumplings as a starter.  A cold bottle of beer and empty glass before him. Sanjay took a lonely swig.  Decided to just soak in the atmosphere.  Savor every bite.  Every sip.  He was officially on his long weekend.  Why not enjoy what he could?

Then he remembered.  Yeah.  Why not?  He took off his jacket, hung it on a nearby rack.    
The bartender saw it in the mirror.  Turned around so fast.  To see if what she saw in the mirror was real, somehow not believing what the mirror world was showing her.  An L Corp Employee Softball League T Shirt.  Rare.  Authentic.  Worn.  Sanjay played it cool.  Picked up his beer and took a long draw.  Pretending not to notice.

\----

Yasmine had never been more focused.  Clicking away.  Typing in line after line of code to hack the kill switch Eddie had installed.  She didn’t even notice as two new goons arrived and started dragging the dead body out of the barn.  Lillian barely said a word as she oversaw both operations from underneath an arched eyebrow on a bench across the room  

\----

It was 11pm.  The place had cleared out.  Sanjay spent the evening catching up on some longreads on his phone during a leisurely dinner.  The bartender was way too busy to flirt.  He perused the dessert menu.

“Get the donuts.”

Sanjay looked up.  It was the bartender.  Right in front.  Eyeing him hard.  

“Donuts for dessert?” asked Sanjay.

“Definitely,” she said, wiping a glass clean.  Suddenly, she was giving him undivided attention.  She tilted the menu down towards her, put her finger on the brown butter brioche donuts.  “They make them fresh to order.  Takes about ten minutes.  So worth it.  If you have time.”  

Flirting.  Big time.  

Finally.  

Ten minutes later she returned with a long thin plate.  Three piping hot brown butter brioche mini donuts and a homemade vanilla bean ice cream milkshake served in the world’s tiniest carafe.  They chatted.  Major vibes.  She asked about L Corp.  The t shirt choice worked like a charm.  They talked about Lena.  He mentioned they went to MIT together.  That’s how he got the job.  

“Why are you looking at me like that,” said Sanjay.

“Like what?”  said the Bartender.

“Like I’m lying,” said Sanjay.

“Are you?” said the Bartender.

“No,” said Sanjay.  He did go to MIT.  With Lena.  And worked at L Corp.

She sized him up.  A professional bartender listens to people all night long.  To their hopes, fears, their pick up lines, their bullshit.

Sanjay didn’t know what to say.  Even though everything he told her was true….he was a liar.  His whole life was a lie.  And this woman, who he didn’t even know, was the only one who knew it.  His attraction to her skyrocketed.

“I have a business card in my jacket,” offered Sanjay.  They both knew this was a smooth way to give her his number.  “Would you like it?”

Pause.  

“Yes,” said the bartender. 

One word.  One syllable.  Meaning so much more.

Sanjay got up.  Walked over to his jacket.  Couldn’t believe his luck.  

\----

“I’m in,” said Yasmine.

Lillian stood up.  Walked over.  Looking both proud and dubious.

“Are you certain?” said Lillian.

“So certain I’ll work the controls myself,” said Yasmine, who walked over to the time machine and stood by the control panel that just an hour before had proved deadly.  Lillian didn’t want to lose Yasmine.  The goon getting fried was one thing.  Yasmine would be much more difficult to replace.  She’d quickly become an invaluable part of Cadmus.  If Yasmine had made even one error, she would die.  

“Are you ready?”

“Yes,” said Lillian.

One word.  One syllable.  Meaning so much more.  

Yasmine began typing the code into the time machine.

Sanjay fished the business card from the inside of his jacket pocket.  

Lillian stepped into the circle.  

Sanjay walked back to the bar.  

Yasmine finished the sequence.  Activated the machine.

Sanjay held out the business card.  The bartender reached for it.  Just before her fingers touched the L Corp business card...

Zap.  Lillian disappeared.  
Back to the past.

\----

A knock on his door.  A loud knock.

 

It was Friday morning.  Before his alarm even went off.  He grumbled.  Groused.  Roused from his bed.  Checked the peep hole on his front door.

Standing in the hall was Lillian Luthor.

He opened the door quickly.  She needed to be inside.  Where no one would see her.  Didn’t care that he was half naked, wearing only a white cotton t shirt and boxer briefs.  Lillian stepped inside and Sanjay quickly found the first pair of pants and hopped into them.  If Lillian was at his house, something was very, very wrong.

“Good morning, Sanjay,” said Lillian.

“Lillian, what are you doing here?” 

She couldn’t tell him that he hasn’t answered his phone.  Her calls hadn’t even happened yet.

Lillian told Sanjay exactly how he’d be spending his weekend.  At the L Corp lab.  Working in secret.  Finishing work on the isotope.  Finishing being the operative word.  His plans for  getaway weekend immediately ruined.

Lillian stood there until Sanjay verbally agreed to the terms.  Then let herself out.

Sanjay just stood there.  His plans for the weekend, his long weekend, gone.  Completely owned by Lillian Luthor.  He wasn’t angry.  He was furious.  His frustrations.  Beyond description.  The door closed behind Lillian and the frustration, the feeling of being trapped, no escape, no hope, no love, no options welled up until tears pooled in his eyes.  He could FEEL in his cells that he was supposed to be somewhere else.  With someone else.  Didn’t know he’d just been somewhere else.  Just moments ago.  That moment stolen from him.  The moment where he was going to connect with, sleep with a woman who looked remarkably like…

Yasmine.  

Who stood staring at the now empty circle.  Lillian Luthor gone.  Disappeared to the past.  Yasmine had cracked the kill switch, impressed her mentor, proved invaluable to the operation once again.  And just successfully operated a time machine.  Yasmine’s eyes also welled with tears.  Such pride.  Such accomplishment.  And yet, look closer at her.  A satisfied smile cracked across Yasmine’s face.  Did she know?  On some strange level?  That she’d just prevented her true love from having a one night stand?   

\----

Alice was still in the middle of the street, although starting to compose herself.  Lena’s phone rang.  

It was Alex.  Standing in the middle of a dark field, nuclear power plant towers looming behind her, Vasquez watching from several paces away.  

“Did you...did you do it?”  asked Alex.

“You did it?” asked Alex.

“Yes,” said Lena.  

One word.  One word.  One syllable.  Meaning…

Okay, you get it.

They decided to meet at Lena’s penthouse.  Now that they had the technology, they needed to come up with a plan.

\---

Lena and Alice hurried back to the lab.

“Where’d you go?” asked Supergirl.

“I, um, I needed to get something from my car,” lied Lena.

Alice just smiled, meekly.  Trying to be invisible to the Girl of Steel.  Trying to be “Meg”...whoever that was.  Lena clearly wanted to keep Alice’s identity a secret, but who she wanted her to be was unclear.  Realized that two thirds of the people in the room had a secret identity.  Alice wondered if Lena had one, too.  And if that was the biggest secret of all?

Lena mumbled some other apologies.  Then something about it being late and needing to lock things up and head to bed.  Lena had forgotten all about Supergirl.  How she used Supergirl for time travel experiments.  Without her knowledge.  Or permission.  Instead she raced through the lab.  Shutting down computers with secret passcodes.  Backing her work on to an external drive.  Erasing every trace of every keystroke she’d made that night, and recalibrating the equipment to where it was from when she first entered.  In a matter of minutes, Lena had removed, destroyed and deleted every trace of her from the lab.  After they exited, Lena locked the door behind them.  Another secret code.  One that would alert her cell phone the next time anyone tried to enter that lab.  With a screenshot of their face.  All entry would now require Lena to type in a code on her phone that unlocked the door.  That lab was officially Fort Knox.  Impenetrable.  How very Luthor.

Lena relaxed.  The three ladies headed to the elevator.  Supergirl got off at the ground floor.  Presumably to fly home.  Alice and Lena were soon in Lena’s car.

\----

“I live just off the Vineland exit,” said Alice.  Helpfully giving directions to her condo.

“I’m not taking you home,”  said Lena.  

Alice sat in silence.  The joy she’d felt earlier suddenly evaporated.   Her body had time traveled.  Now her essence was completely arrived.  The vibe in the car was now one of dark intrigue and dangerous endeavors.  It had always been that vibe, Alice realized.  She said nothing.  Just like in their earlier sessions, Alice let the uncomfortable silence permeate.  Forcing Lena to continue.

“Can you imagine letting yourself into your apartment?  Finding yourself in your own bed? Waking up an intruder?  An intruder who is...you?”  pondered Lena.

Alice tried to wrap her head around the scenario Lena painted.  Lena simply nodded her head no, dismissing the idea entirely.  Drove.

Soon they were in Lena’s penthouse.  Alice marvelled at the size.  The grandeur.  The art.  The view.  This was wealth.  This was luxury.  This was...menace?  Peril?  It suddenly seemed like there was no difference.  Despite her trepidation, Alice walked over to the windows and looked out over the city.  The glistening, twinkling lights like a blanket of diamonds spread out below.  Suddenly, all of her dreams of status and wealth seemed like the worst possible situation a human could find themselves in.  This penthouse, on top of a skyscraper, suddenly felt like a giant bullseye.  A living in the world’s biggest target.  

A knock at the door.  

Alice turned.  Quickly.  To see who it could be.  Things were happening so fast.  Who was visiting at 3am?  Alice’s stomach sank with anticipation and uncertainty.  Watched as Lena checked an ipad security panel.  Opened the door.  A very appealing redhead in dark, military type garb entered.  Lena armed the door.  Double checked the alarms.  Then Alice watched as the two women fell into each other’s arms.

Ah.  This is the woman Lena had been talking about during their session.

Watching as they held each other with intensity.  Both needing equal amounts of reassurance.  Nothing was certain.  

Lena’s eyes seemed soft, and vulnerable.  She clearly didn’t know what was to come.  Neither did this Alex woman.  Although Alex tried her best to reassure Lena.

“We’re one step ahead of Lillian,” said Alex, pulling out of the hug to look Lena in the eyes while keeping her arms around her tight.  “Let’s get some sleep.  Tomorrow we’ll wake up and figure out a plan.”

Lena was grateful.  Being in Alex’s presence, being in her arms was so reassuring.  Knowing that at any moment, she’d be in bed with Alex.  Their bodies wrapped up, entwined.  A warm flush filled Lena.  She would soon have the satisfaction she so desperately needed.  Ending this day with Alex in her bed was the only thing that made sense.  She knew they wouldn't go straight to sleep.  Alex knew it, too.  Lena’s eyes flickered with desire.

And then...something else.  Something was nagging at Lena.  In the back of her mind.  Telling Lena that something wasn’t right.  Because nothing was right.  Nothing at all.  The space time continuum had been traveled to and fro, had lied to Supergirl, had not one but two therapists running around town, her mother was in the middle of yet another diabolical plot.  Of course, she felt like things were amiss.  

And yet...it was as if somehow, on some level, she could feel that she’d made a mistake.  

As Lena’s soul could feel what was happening at that very moment.

 

\-----

Sanjay exited the elevator.  Sleepy.  Surly.  It was 3AM.  These were the only hours he could work without being seen.  He walked towards the lab, dreaming of the day he could piss on Lillian’s grave.  Pictured himself standing over a freshly buried plot of dirt.  A tombstone reading Lillian Luthor and the dates of her brief stay on earth.  Pictured taking his dick out.  Whizzing all over it.  The Stone.  Her name.  The image felt so real he suddenly needed to take a leak.  Ducked into the nearest bathroom to relieve himself.

Turned and saw the mirrors.  Lipstick.  Equations.  A crime scene of red streaked science.

Lena had forgotten to wipe them clean.

Sanjay marveled at the exquisite science before him.  Could easily identify the portions that were the decoded isotope.  Saw that the isotope formula employed in a manner that seemed to indicate…  No.  It couldn’t be.  Could it??

Sanjay pulled out his phone.  Photographed every mirror.  Hasty.  As if someone might come in at any moment.  Hasty as if his life was in danger.  Hasty like he was in a window of opportunity that had opened accidentally and could close at any moment.  An unexpected chance.  To escape.  A prisoner seeing an open door.  Choosing to dash through it.  Not knowing if the road ahead would be safe to travel.  Not knowing if he was making things worse for himself if things didn’t go right.   Washing and scrubbing the lipstick off with paper towels and toilet paper and water.  Washing as if his life was at stake.  Washing until those the mirror world disappearing back to the sparkling ordinariness of reflected bathroom stalls.

Sanjay filled the wastebasket with the crumpled up paper products smeared with water and makeup.  Took the plastic trash bag with him back to his car and drove away.  Not even entering the lab.  Not alerting Lena to his presence.  Driving home, alone on a darkened highway. Filled with thrill.

Something in him knew these photos were the key to his freedom.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers!! There was an issue with Chapter 20 - for some reason it was in a preview mode and not available to readers. It's up now and ready for your eyeballs. 
> 
> Sorry about this confusion. And thanks to Dryxus for alerting me to this snafu!
> 
> If you didn't read Chapter 20 - travel back in time and enjoy!
> 
> Love you guys. xxxx 
> 
> rTracker

Alex’s hands.  On her arms. Alex’s mouth.  Offering words of reassurance.  Alex’s eyes. Offering something else entirely.  Lena’s eyes flickered with desire. The late hour.  (3 AM) The location. (Lena’s penthouse.) They’d been here before.  This very same time and place. Making them in this moment time travelers of a sort.  No doubt they would soon be in the bedroom again. Revisiting the past. Luxuriating in the present.  And utterly unable to stop themselves from being engulfed by the encroaching future. 

It kept showing up everywhere they went.  Like a mist. In painstakingly slow, one second increments.  Swallowing every moment and archiving. Present turning into past.  Right before one’s very eyes. Every moment of one’s lives. Until one dies.  Meanwhile, the ground underneath careening forward at breathtaking rate of 108,000 km/h.  As if Mother Earth herself had gathered up all her brood and was fleeing as fast as possible in attempts to escape from the time monster.

A heat welled up in Alex.  The heat of knowing what was to come.  And yet - not knowing. Who would consume who tonight?  With Lena one could never be sure. A lump formed in Alex’s throat.  She wanted to make the first move. Be the Alpha. Surprise. Dominate.  Why? Why did Alex always have to prove she was a skilled and confident lover?  Well, when your your sister is Supergirl and your “is-she-or-isn’t-she-my” girlfriend is the world’s most brilliant scientist and you just spent your night chasing down rats in the mud with a junior agent nipping at your heels...you, too, might need to flex a little.  

And then.  Click. Lena’s smoldering green eyes shifted.  Suddenly flickered. Desire disappeared. Replaced with a sudden awareness.  Of something forgotten. Lena searched. Her eyes moved off Alex. Stared at a point in space where nothing was.  Searching the nothing for something. Giving her eyes nothing to focus on so that her attention might find it’s way inside herself.  That’s usually where the answer was.

Where did she go?  What was she looking for?  Alex searched Lena’s eyes. It was as if someone had walked up to Lena and whispered in her ear, “Did you forget something?”   Offering nothing more but the seeds of doubt and uncertainty. But there was no one whispering. So Alex took Lena’s face in her hands.  Made Lena look at her. Made her focus. This was the time. To be in control. To tame.

“Lena…Look at me.”  Alex was using a tone, implying all of that and more.  Assertive. Commanding. Lena did as asked. Warming to this.  

Alex’s hands traveled down Lena’s neck, applying delicious pressure to her shoulders, a slight massage, then hard down her spine.  Landing at the small of her back. Pulling Lena in tight and fast. Lena’s breath hitched. 

“It’s just us…” said Alex.  Her tone implying safety. Her tone implying sex.

Lena’s entire body went cold.  Her face fell. Her eyes. Realizing.  Oh. That’s what I forgot. Alex’s arms went a bit slack.  Lena looked at Alex. Closed her mouth tight. The way one does when they have something really difficult to say and they don’t know how to say it but they have to say it and sort of have to say it right now but they don’t want to say it the wrong way and god damn the seconds keep passing, extending this moment that you wish was already over and won’t be over until you say something.  Lena’s mouth opened. That was step one. The words, however, there were no words. Lena’s eyes picked up the slack. They turned to the living room. Alex’s eyes followed their path.

Alice raised her hand up and whispered, “hello.”

Alex’s mouth opened.  Turned to Lena. No words came out.  Lena’s eyes offered a half apology. What was she half apologizing for?  For not telling Alex? That they weren’t alone? Alex had just arrived. Should she have foregone the embrace and made introductions instead?  The other half expressed to Alex that she was too tired to even explain and please don’t ask for one. Not right now. Please.

Alex looked back at Alice who put her hand down.  Alex nodded her hello. 

It was pretty butch.

She had a million questions, obviously.  Another woman. In Lena’s penthouse. At three AM.  I mean. What. The. Fuck. Alex’s burning turned to anger.  Who was this woman? What did she know? Alex took in every single detail about Alice in an instant.  Her face. Her hair. Her eye color. Her outfit. Alex could never forget a face. She’d been trained not to.  Curly blonde. Pillowy. Blue eyed. Matching shirt dress in pale blue. Check check check. Alice did her own inventory.  Alex’s posture. Alex’s energy. She was playing this real cool. To everyone. Even herself.

Alex looked back at Lena.  A neutral face. A deep breath.  Eyes that said “I trust you.”

Lena mouthed “thank you.”  Caressed Alex’s arm. Alex softened.  Lena inhaled. Smiled, indicating just a few more minutes my love.  At least, that’s what it seemed like she was saying. Or am I just hoping that?  There is another woman here, after all. 

Lena took a few steps.  Needed to finish playing host.  

“Alice, Alex.  Alex, Alice,” said Lena.  Instantly realizing that the chances of saying the wrong name during a moment of passion was a distinct and terrible possibility.  Or worse. In therapy. Talking about sex with Alice to Alice. Lena shook her head, trying to erase her mind like an etch a sketch.  Alice noticed. Logged this little tic. Lena looked down at her feet. Then back up. A fresh confident face. Mustering up the last bits of energy in her body to usher Alice to the guest room.  She had a closet full of clothes just for visiting guests. Slippers. Pajamas. Towels. 

Alex looked around the guest quarters.  Alice could see Alex hadn’t been in this part of the house before.  Noted. Alice was looking at the room and the people in it. Dynamics.  Environments. Check. Check. Check. They agreed to see each other in the morning.  Alice waited until she heard them walk down the hall. Then locked the door to her room.  Sat on the bed. She sat on the bed. Next to a neatly piled stack of night clothes. Never having felt more alone.  Was it the circumstances? Or did Lena’s house just have a pervading sense of loneliness to it? Alice ran her hands across the pajamas.  Silk. Of course they were.

\----

Alex and Lena went straight to the master bedroom.  There was so much to talk about. Time travel. Nuclear reactors.  That woman downstairs. Too much to talk about. The silence between them was deafening.  Without a word or even a glance. They both mechanically stripped off their clothes. Leaving them on the ground.  Faced each other. Finally. Alex looked to the bed and then back at Lena. It wasn’t a question. Lena slid under the covers.  Alex followed. Before she was even fully in the bed, mouths, hands, fingers, tongues. No one was wet yet. And yet. An urgency.  Alex knew were the lube was kept. Second drawer down, right side night table. She reached over. Lena’s hands grabbed Alex by the head.  Grabbing Alex’s short tresses is hard fistfulls. Guided Alex. Roughly. Pushing her down. In between Lena’s legs. Before Alex could take a breath, Lena was forcing Alex’s face down, grinding on it.  Alex opened her mouth for air. Lena used the opportunity to put Alex’s tongue to work, lifting her hips up and down in order to be licked exactly how she wanted, how she needed.

To be honest, Alex felt like an employee rather than a lover.  Lena was the boss. Alex felt...what was the feeling? Used? She tried to figure out what the feeling was as she tried to participate.  Licking and eating and just trying to keep up. Lena was someone else in this moment. Someone Alex had never seen before. It was...not what Alex was expecting.  It wasn’t selfish. It was something beyond selfish. In one sense it was arousing. In another sense it was alienating. Lena’s needs in this moment had zero to do with Alex, who decided maybe sucking on Lena’s clit might give her the feeling of some agency.  Alex took the wet hard nub in her mouth and started sucking with a bit more pressure than usual. 

“Yes, that’s it.  Suck me off,” said Lena.  Taking command. Immediately putting Alex back in servitude.  Lena adjusted her hands, adjusting her grip on Alex’s head, strengthening her hold.  Alex immediately felt even more like a servant. Part of her wanted to stop. Wanted to check in.  Wanted to share how uneasy she felt in this role in this moment. On the other hand, Lena was orgasming.  Wait. What? Alex’s face was suddenly covered in juice and Lena’s was trying to get Alex to draw out the last few waves but Alex was just stunned and so Lena’s fingers went in between her legs and finished herself off.

A few breaths.  Alex sat up. Lena looked over.  Knew there was another one to go before they could get some sleep.  “How would you like it, darling?” 

Alex didn’t know what to say.  Where were the games? Why did she need so much more than what she was getting?  Here she was in Lena’s home, in Lena’s bed. Maybe Lena wasn’t being selfish. Maybe she was being the perfect host.  Giving people a place to sleep. Pajamas. Orgasms. Whatever they needed.

“I saw you reaching for the lube?” said Lena.  Alex’s mouth opened once again. Wanting to say something.  No words coming out. 

Lena opened the draw.  Took out the lube. Gently laid Alex down.  Turned her over onto her stomach. Lifted her hips.  Alex wasn’t sure she wanted any of this. Couldn’t see Lena’s face.  Insecure. What was Lena thinking? And yet. Something incredible about Lena’s touch.  One hand roving over Alex’s ass as the other clicked open the top of the lube. So confident.  So assured. 

Alex realized her orgasm was a task that Lena was trying to lovingly check off a list.  They both needed to come. They both needed sleep. Alex’s ambivalence didn’t quell. Needing to emotionally connect with Lena.  Not getting that. Yet her body the sole object of Lena’s attention and ministrations. Alex had planned on dominating tonight. And here she was on her knees, ass in the air, her most vulnerable entrance completely open and exposed.  

Heard the bottle click shut.  Then two lubed up fingers slide up and down Alex’s slit, tugged a bit on Alex’s clit.  Which was rock hard. Aching from the earlier activities. Despite whatever mind trip Alex had been on...her body couldn’t help from being aroused.  Couldn’t stop the fingers from filling and fucking and flicking. Alex fisted the pillow and buried her head in it as Lena reading Alex’s body like a book.  Like an instruction manual. This then that. Then this. Then that. Alex’s body responding exactly as planned, blood pumping, clit throbbing, despite the lingering uncertainty.  Her pussy had been wet and ready. Her heart wasn’t quite. Somehow this juxtaposition created a hint of shame that was arousing. 

And as Alex debated feeling between vulnerable and turned on and anxious...her pussy walls started convulsing.  She was almost there. Wanting to get this over with, and the only way to really have this over and done with was to orgasm, for to not orgasm would have been a failure on both of their parts, would have led to conversation, which Lena’s clearly didn’t want because Lena didn’t want to discuss the woman in the bedroom downstairs and all this and the shame and the ambivalence and the need to push herself over into orgasm.  The combination of all this caused Alex to start fantasizing. Naturally her brain selected something shameful and sexy. Something she would feel deeply ambivalent about. She pictured Alice. On all fours. On the bed. Alex pictured her fingers sliding deep inside Alice. She pictured generous thighs and fluffy blonde pubic hairs aside thick pink lips. Alex visualized fucking that mystery woman exactly at the same pace and rate that Lena was. The same number of fingers. The same position.  Had this woman, this Alice person, ever had another woman’s fingers inside of her? Alex pretended the answer was no. Alex’s pussy clenched at the thought. Alice so aroused and vulnerable. Alice’s clit being circled. Alice's pussy filled and fucked. Maybe she was straight? Straight people still come when a finger is circling their wet throbbing clit. Even if that finger is a woman’s.

Lena could feel Alex clenching on her.  Lena picked up the pace. Alex visualized having had sucked on Alice’s nipples.  Pinched. Nibbled. Yes. That’s how Alice had gotten so wet. Her dress had been unbuttoned all the way down and then was open and then was on the floor.  Who cares what had happened to the undergarments. Alex was fucking and dominating Lena’s houseguest. Maybe Lena had stepped out for a moment? Maybe she had to run to L Corp?  That will teach her to bring home strange women. In this little scene, Alex had interrogated Alice. Gotten all the answers. Got everything she wanted and more.

Complete domination. Complete control. 

Thick arousal gushed over Lena’s right index and middle fingers, which were buried deep inside Alex.  Alex’s mouth. Gasping and moaning in pleasure. Lena instantly started stroking Alex’s clit with her opposite two fingers.  Milking it. Pulling out waves of internal and external climax. Alex kept pretending it was Alice gushing with orgasm. Alice whose clit was being milked. Alice moaning.  Alice moaning for Alex. Alice. Alex. Wait. What the fuck was that all about? Just as Lena had finished, Alex made this little discovery. Panting into the pillow with renewed uncertainty as Lena removed her fingers and lowered Alex’s ass down. Alex decided it could wait until morning.  Closed her eyes. Fell fast asleep.

Now it was Lena who was alone.  She went to the bathroom. Too tired to shower.  She washed at the bidet. (Of course she has a bidet.  Why didn’t I mention that earlier? You should have known.)  Naked. Straddling. Her hands washing herself. Dried off. Took her makeup off.  Climbed into the other side of the bed. Laid there. Finally, finally able to sleep.  

It lasted all of three hours.  Her biological clock waking her.  CEO time. Lena laid there. If Alex was going to sleep in, why shouldn’t I?  I can’t do anything without her. And look. She’s fast asleep. Will probably stay asleep for several more hours.  Lena folded her pillow in two and plopped down on her side. Trying to stay in bed. Counting off all the reasons why it was safer to stay there.  The house was secure. She had an FBI agent next to her. Weapons within reach. And the time machine safely in her purse in the kitchen.

In the kitchen?  

Lena sprung up.  Slid out of bed. Why didn’t she have that thing by her side?  Maybe that’s what she’d forgot. God damn, Lena. More mistakes.  She needed sleep and yet she needed to get out of bed. Wrapped a kimono around herself and headed downstairs.  Vowed to never again have that time machine leave her side. 

If it was still there.


	23. Chapter 23

She sensed her before she saw her. Slowly rounding the corner.  There she was. Alice. Sitting at the kitchen island, head bowed over a journal, a fountain pen on the counter beside her.  Alice’s finger making lazy patterns across the page. Reading what had presumably just been written.

She’s a record keeper, noted Lena.  She took notes during our session. And now she’s gotten up early to take notes.  This is not good. What would be even worse was if she caught me lurking. Better to just stride boldly into the kitchen.  Which is mine after all.

So that’s exactly what Lena did.

“Good morning,” said Lena.  

Alice’s eyes shot up, taking in the new presence.  Removed the hand with the tracing finger as the other hand closed the journal.  It wasn’t subtle. Nor was it aggressive. It was what it was. Hers. And not Lena’s.   

Lena gave Alice a tight smile.  She was done apologizing. Had she even apologized to Alice?  Lena hoped not. She didn’t do anything wrong. She was the one who grabbed me.  Maybe grabbed is a bit strong of a word, but I was trying to leave and she got up to stop me.  Maybe stop me is a bit of a strong word. She put her hand on me. Is that wrong? For a therapist to touch a client?  All this and more was in Lena’s eyes as she crossed the room, heading for her purse.

“Morning,” said Alice.

Lena got to her purse and fished around inside.  Grasped the time travel device and a huge wave of relief flowed over her.  Then ambivalence. Had part of her hoped it was gone? Well, it wasn’t. She still had a lot of work ahead of her.  She zipped up her bag and put it on the counter. In response, Alice pulled her journal a bit towards her. A protective gesture.  Pulling it away from Lena. Or was it away from the Luthor? Either way, she didn’t mean to. It just happened. And they both noticed.  Alice looked sorry. But not sorry enough to say sorry. Alice tried to figure out if she’d just been an impolite houseguest or a canny captive.

Lena sighed.  She’d seen this type of face at countless dinner parties that Lionel and Lillian hosted.  Lionel would invite various c-level executives from his various portfolio of companies. It was an invitation they couldn’t refuse.  Some revelled at the opportunity to enter the home, the fold. Rub shoulder and possibly advance. For the ones who’d worked for Lionel for two years or more, they knew it was about control.  Being controlled. Being monitored and watched in a new environment. Lionel liked to assess loyalty over passed apps. Liked to test limits by seating husbands and wives at opposite ends of his twenty four seat dining room table.  Liked to force guests to linger, never getting up from the table, waiting to see who would excuse themselves first, who would dare end the evening, who would dare end their opportunities, who would announce they were tired, they didn’t have the stamina to keep up, who would dare show they had anywhere more important to do be.  

Lena would come in to kiss her father goodnight and she could see the stress on the adults faces.  Later he would explain it was just a game to see who could enjoy themselves the most. What he really meant was - who could hide the stress the best.  He was looking for people who could not only keep calm, but sell nonchalance. He was looking for his key negotiators. It’s great to be able to hide your true feelings, Lena, but it’s extraordinary when you can make someone believe you are calm and relaxed.  These are the most hypnotic and powerful qualities a human can possess. More important than intellect, Lena. Much, much more important. 

Secret notes in a secret journal, closed shut at the sight of Lena and pulled in close as if Lena might grab it.  As if Lena Luthor was a grabby little bitch. I mean, please! Alice felt embarrassed, but none of this seemed to phase Lena in the least.  In fact, Lena seemed completely calm and relaxed.

“It’s not your fault,” said Lena.

“What’s not?” asked Alice.

“You obviously didn’t get the memo,” replied Lena.  “The one that says: Never Work with a Luthor.” 

Alice saw what Lena was doing.  Shifting the blame. Reminding Alice she should have known better.  All the while treating the obvious burden of being born Luthor with good humor.  With a blase comme ci comme sa attitude. Letting Alice know that I’ve been dealing with this my whole life and I’m not playing a victim, just stating facts.  The dynamics were incredibly interesting. And terrifying. Alice pulled her notebook even closer until it slide right off the counter and into her lap. Lena watched this bit of action and kept nonchalant.  Covering one’s genitals was a sign of fear. Fiona had taught her that. 

Lena walked over a cabinet, pulled out a mug and held it up to Alice.  “Coffee? Tea?”

Alice kept her face neutral.  Made more mental notes. Of course Lena would follow up with a bit of hospitality.  A gift of freshly brewed what not. Relatable. Hospitable. Alice had to accept. Lena didn’t let Alice go home last night.   So there’d be no running out to the local corner store for a cupp, would there?

“Tea,” said Alice.

What was in that notebook, you ask?  What was Alice writing, alone before dawn?  Scribbling and scribing in solitude, in near darkness, by the faint recessed lighting of the kitchen?  Lighting designed to prevent a stubbed toe during a middle of the night snack run and hardly suitable for anything else?  She’d slept a few hours, but the guest bedroom seemed cold and empty and eerie so Alice found her way to the kitchen. She thought about turning on the lights, but which switch to choose?  Alice decided to skip the “try and see what works” method. What if she chose wrong? What if the switch started a blender that woke everyone? Or opened the shades and someone who shouldn’t could suddenly see inside?  This is a Luthor abode, Alice told herself. What might look like an innocent light switch might actually be a hidden alarm. Whatever fool touched it would instantly be discovered. The alarm might even operate the lights just like a normal switch, and at the same time alert the authorities.  Or worse, a personal security team authorized to administer swift and covert measures. That’s exactly what a Luthor would do, isn’t it? 

Alice desperately needed some fresh air.  The high gloss countertops and glowing stainless steel accents and the vast, truly vast living room space and impressive floor to ceiling glass windows.  Windows that didn’t seem to open.

Alice didn’t touch one single thing save for the kitchen stool, her pen and her notebook.  She was alone and for the first time, able to collect her thoughts. Literally collecting them.  Like sea glass. Her thoughts poured out of her mind, through the ink in her pen and materialized before her on the paper.  Like magic. Thoughts made visible. Made manifest. Made clear. Not just thoughts. Memories left her brain and traveled down through her arm into her hand and out through the ink.  Being able to see your memories is a great tool. Alice wrote and wrote and wrote and when she’d put it all on paper, she took a moment, pushed the journal away, pulled it back and started reading.  Curious to see what she’d written. Almost as curious as me, you see, lucky for you, Reader, I was peering over her shoulder the entire time. Don’t judge.

Starting backwards, waking up in Lena Luthor’s penthouse, concerned about safety, not wanting to touch anything, silk pajamas, a government Agent, presumably Lena’s girlfriend, riding in a car with Lena Luthor, riding in an elevator with Lena.  Going down, down, down. Down a shaft. A hole. To a subterranean parking garage. A feeling similar to when you half wake up, when you feel like you’re falling but you’re not falling you’re just laying there and yet somehow your self was elsewhere, and a silver string connecting it to home base gets pulled, tugging you back inside yourself.  The whoosh of entering your own body when you’d just been on the astral plane felt very much like falling.

One of Alice’s favorite college classes was “Dreamtime and Analysis.” She would have majored in that had the world not scoffed at Dream Analysis as a pseudoscience that didn’t pay the bills.  No one pays a therapist for weekly dream interpretation. NO ONE. Alice loved dreams. She set up a secret account on Amazon and bought several books on dreams, what were dreams? Did the brain never sleep?  Was this just the brain running in circles, like a battery controlled car without anyone at the remote? Driving around the room in haphazard patterns, crashing into walls, bumping up against familiar things again and again, then off in another direction entirely?  Or did the brain know exactly what it was doing? Was this the time of genius? Was our consciousness the mind of limitation and once that was asleep, the subconscious allowed to dance in Fibonacci spirals, the pattern of the cosmos, where the internal and the external finally matched, synchronicity personified, where questions and solutions were one?  Or was the brian the supercomputer, downloading and processing, defragging and dumping files from the trash. Installing updates. 

Every regular and repeating function of the human body is designed to protect the organism.  Why wouldn’t dreams be included in this? Dreams were regular. A phenomenon reported since the dawn of recorded history.  There had to be a purpose. There had to be.

Meeting Supergirl!  Mirrors and equations - red like Supergirl’s cape.  Time travel. A time jump. From the lab and then back in the strange hotel room.  What was I doing in that hotel room. Oh, yes. Lena Luthor had requested to see me.  Lena Luthor contacted me out of the blue. She wanted me to be her therapist. Alice’s memories stopped.  Her pen kept going. Doodles. Spirals. The ones from the mirrors. Pen spinning. Spirals manifesting. Where had she seen them before?  She stopped doodling. Read her notes. Asked herself...

Am I dreaming?

Looked around.  Is this how I imagine Lena Luthor lives?  In a twilight environment? Not quite darkness.  Not quite dawn. A cold place. Yet vast. Devoid of people.  Yet designed for so much more. Alice scribbled all of this down, too.  Then ran her finger over the words, the paper, feeling its smoothness on her fingertips.  It felt real. 

That’s when Lena appeared.  Spooking Alice. It was like she’d conjured Lena’s arrival by thinking about her, by writing about her.  Alice shut the journal quickly. Pulled it towards her. It ended up in her lap.

Lena turned away from Alice.  Moving about the kitchen. Reaching for an electric kettle.  Filling it with water. Fishing around for where her staff kept the teas.

Alice watched.  Wondered if she having one of those dreams where you could control the outcome through thought?  She’d read about those. I asked for tea and now “Lena Luthor” is right there making it for me. She would have marveled at it all if the feeling in the room hadn’t been so overwhelming.  It all felt so real! And yet there were obvious signs and symbols of the dream world. Take for example, the fearsome Tiger that was suddenly in the kitchen, staring down Alice. 

You see, the back of Lena’s shining, shimmering black kimono featured a life sized, hand-painted picture of green eyed tiger.   Stalking prey through bamboo. And when Lena turned her back to prepare tea, this Tiger appeared. And with Lena’s arms reaching and her body moving this way and that, the fabric of the kimono billowed and the Tiger seemed alive, moving, breathing, as it peered at Alice.  It’s eyes boring into her.

Every part of it was symbolic.  Black symbolizing the infinite unknown, magic, danger, the Luthor name.  A green eyed tiger. The apex predator, beautiful, stealthy, deadly, green eyed like Lena, a warning to others about envying something they can barely see, for the tiger was half covered by bamboo, the luckiest of plants, symbolizing money, partially covering the tiger, concealing it, revealing it, bamboo stalks, nature’s prison bars.   The tiger half in each world and wholly a part of neither. (Charlie Yamamoto conceived and painted this kimono for Lena during one of her teenage fashion expeditions through Hong Kong. It was the one item Lena always traveled with and she sent him annual Chinese New Years gifts of chocolate bars wrapped in gold foil wrapped in red paper adorned with whatever animal that year symbolized.   Pig. Rat. Rooster.)

A Chinese tiger on a Japanese garment.  Lena was only half Luthor. Did China represent Lionel?  A fearsome dynastic empire, producing some of the world’s greatest philosophers, dedicated to keeping enemies out by building walls that can be seen from space.  Certainly Chinese Tiger represented the Luthor name. The kimono itself, a garment symbolizing the feminine, good manners from a sovereign island nation hostile to outsiders.  Cloaking Lena, wrapping its arms around her, was Mother love. Lena’s other half. The part that was anything but Luthor.

Lena turned around.  Holding two cups of tea.  The Tiger disappeared. Lena’s pale skin, her shimmering jet black hair, her green eyes.  Alice’s heart skipped a beat. So similar was Lena to that Tiger. Was the tiger image a warning?  That Lena Luthor is a predator? Something that lives behind bars even in the wild? Something that needed to be kept in a cage, behind bars, if it’s to be anywhere near humans?

Lena put the cups and saucers down, a small spoon balancing on each.  The sound was deafening. Clink. Set out milk and sugar. Sat at the island facing Alice.  The two women looked at each other.

The vibe was very fucking awkward.

Alice sipped her tea.  

“Couldn’t sleep?” asked Lena.

“I’m an early riser,” said Alice.  Not offering anything else. Lips clamped shut.  The sun wasn’t due to rise for another 45 minutes but a few hints of approaching dawn emerged over the city lights.

“I suppose I’m not supposed to ask my a therapist personal questions,” said Lena.

“Is that what I am?” asked Alice.

Lena didn’t respond.  Neither of them knew. They looked at each other, holding delicate tea cups in the air, delicate questions hung in the air, as did fates.  Both waiting for the other to answer. Alice had asked the question. Lena saw something in Alice’s eyes that said, “I will wait until kingdom come before helping you out of answering this one.”

So much had happened.  So many rules broken. Laws broken.  Laws of gravity. Laws of time and space.  Did their session end at the time jump? Was an NDA enforceable for things that happened before the session?  They were now two days earlier. How could I explain this to a judge? Lena sighed.

Alice was at a choice point.  These were common in dreams. She found herself speaking before thinking.  Another sign of the dream world. 

“Do you want me?” asked Lena.  

Lena meant to say ‘Do you want me as a client.’  Why did I just say that?? Lena got hot. Her chest turned red.  Thank God the kimono was covering her up. It took all of Lena’s willpower to just sit there and not amend her statement.  It would have only made things worse. Play it off like you both know what it means. It seemed like an eternity before Alice answered.  Lena couldn’t remember ever feeling more nervous.

The dream world is where we can face the extraordinary.  The unimaginable becomes real. Hidden parts of ourselves manifest.  Qualities suppressed in waking life bloom. Inner mysteries revealed, unlocked.   If this was Alice’s dream, then she was supposed to be here. Doing things that were both impossible and improbable.  For her benefit. Alice took a deep breath and relaxed. Of course she was dreaming. 

“According to you, our session doesn’t even happen for two days,” mused Alice who was feeling a little looser.  Since this was just a dream and all, why not relax and enjoy it?

Lena smiled.  Alice sliding a piece diagonally.  Forcing Lena to make a move. Chess.

“Technically we were in the middle of our session,” replied Lena.  

Blocking.  Pawn captures Rook.  

Lena enjoyed the idea of Alice being under contract on this time travel adventure.  Owning her with cold Luthor cash. Cash that would both establish and clarify the power dynamic.  This arrangement would give Lena the advantage. Lionel taught her to always take the advantage. Even if you didn’t know what it was or what it meant.  Always take it.

“Are you telling me I’m still on the clock?” Alice asked, raising her cup to her lips.  “I charge by the hour, you know.” Alice sipped the tea, maintaining eye contact with Lena over the cup.  Her eyes opening, then narrowing with a playfulness as she placed her Queen into position. 

Check. 

Literally a check.  Alice’s tone had taken on a new quality.  A boldness. This was more than a challenge.  It was a directive. Pay me.

The delicate porcelain.  Eyes. Lips. A challenge offered.  Lena suddenly saw Alice as much more than a therapist.  There were other professions that charged by the hour, after all.  Considering they were both in their pajamas, it wasn’t exactly a stretch for Lena to find go there.  

Alex was upstairs.  Lena needed to take things down a notch.   Ccocked an eyebrow and said, “If you’re charging by the hour, this is going to be the most expensive therapy session in history.”

Alice smiled.  Alice sipped her tea.  Alice liked the idea of being expensive.  

“This means that we’ve been in session this whole time,” said Lena.  “A session protected by the NDA.”

“Completely confidential,” said Alice.

Lena thought about the NDA.  The lawyer who drafted it said something to the effect of - anyone who signs this will take your secrets to their grave.  Lena decided to not use these words right now. Since ending up in a literal grave was a distinct possibility. Lena put this moral quandary out of her mind.  That came from Lillian.

Lena unzipped her purse and pulled out a checkbook.  Lionel taught her to always carry cheques. People enjoyed having a piece of paper with the Luthor name on it.  They liked it so much that sometimes they never ever cashed it. Lena opened her checkbook on the counter, looked at Alice’s fountain pen.

“May I?” said Lena.  Alice nodded yes. 

Lena took the pen, made a few mental calculations.  One for the session. Then starting at 2am Sunday morning until the appointment on Monday morning.  Times her rate. Rounded up. Then mentally added some extra money. For silence. For loyalty. Another trick Lionel had taught her.  Was about to write the check, then pen wouldn’t start, scratching. Lena was familiar with fountain pens. Touched her fingertip to her lips, then brought the pen’s tip to her fingertip.  Lena looked like she was about to initiate a blood oath. Was Lena going to puncture her fingertip? Would she fill the pen with her blood? Is that how Lena Luthor wrote checks?? Alice watched.  Mesmerized. 

Lena was just wetting the slit.  With her saliva. The tines of the nib of the pen spread a bit against Lena’s flesh, taking in a bit of her saliva.  Lena pulled out a bit of scratch paper and started making circles with the pen. Ink started to flow. Lena kept spiralizing it until the inkflow was smooth.  Ink. Spirals. Watching. Mesmerized. 

That’s when Alice remembered.  From a story she’d once read. 

With all this tea drinking and chess playing and a big orange cat staring at her, combined with rabbit hole falling, the strange new people, the dream like qualities of this adventure, the myraid instances of looking glasses...not to mention the fact that her name is Alice...you would think that she was thinking of the tale so obvious it hardly needs naming.  But it wasn’t. 

It was a bit of science fiction she’s read, posted to an online forum for fans of the genre.  About a hell floating in the heavens. Designed to control and confine chaos. A fortress impenetrable whose inhabitants were incapable of escape.  It was a terrifying parable about good and evil. Sometimes Alice liked to stay up late and read stories that absolutely terrified her. And the most terrifying stories of all were stories of evil aliens.  What made that so terrifying? When Alice was a little girl, aliens were a theoretical. Then Superman appeared on the scene and suddenly aliens were everywhere. Causing a wake of destruction in their path and frequently plotting the destruction or enslavement of mankind.  The main character was imprisoned with the most sinister aliens in the known universe. His only means of escape would be to finally discover the secrets of time travel, the answer which laid in the sacred spiral.

What was the name of that story?  

“Escape from Fort Rozz.”

Alice didn’t mention the any of this to Lena.  Of what possible consequence could a bit of fan fiction have on anything at all?

Lena wrote the check.  Signed it. Picked up the paper.  Blew on it, drying the ink. Looking at Alice all the while.  Placed it on the table and slid it the towards Alice. 

Alice reached out to take it.  Their fingers touched during the exchange.  Reader, feel free to read that sentence again.  Picturing the skin touching for the first time. Now picture it again.  In slow motion. They both would.

Alice read the check.  Her eyes grew wide. For two reasons.  Number one - it was for one hundred thousand dollars.  Number two - it was dated two days into the future.

“For services rendered,” said Lena.  

Still holding the fountain pen.  It took all of Lena’s willpower to not put it against her lips.  This would have been the perfect time for Lena to serve one of her seductive, I’m your boss now looks.  The kind that last only a few seconds in the world and a lifetime in the imagination. Old habits are hard to break.  But the idea of buying a woman for the weekend was so delicious! But Alex is upstairs! Lena put the pen down. Lena decided to be good.

Alice.  The check in her hands.  The paper. Smooth against her fingertips.  It felt so real. The sun was coming up. She felt incredibly awake.  Alive. Vibrant and vibrating. Looked at astonishing sum. Read it twice.  Three times. The most she’d ever made from a single client appointment. As she read it a third time, the sum having not changed since the first read, a voice deep inside of Alice whispered to her:  “This will be all be yours - if I you just keep alive until Monday afternoon.”


	24. Chapter 24

Lena and Alice talked.  About mothers and childhood and wealth and adoption and legacy and half brothers and Aliens.  They talked a lot about Aliens. Lena made more tea. The conversation couldn’t have been more casual.  They were in pajamas, drinking tea in the kitchen. The words flew. It wasn’t like with Fiona. Where each hour felt heavy and long.  This morning questions flew by and topics changing with ease. Lena looked at the clock and saw it was already 9am.

“Honestly, I’ve never talked to anyone for this long,” said Lena.

“Never?” asked Alice.  Lena didn’t respond. 

She wasn’t in the habit of repeating herself.

They both marveled at how quickly time had passed.  The sun had come up. And it felt sad. Like the moment had passed.  The bright light of day ending their dawn discussions. Then Lena got that look in her eye.  Pulled the time machine out of her purse. Asked Alice if she wouldn’t mind talking a bit longer.  Alice didn’t quite understand but agreed. Lena set some buttons to go back to 6:30am, hit the switch and suddenly it was dark again.  Dusk again.

Alice didn’t seem very surprised.  Being with Lena Luthor somehow made batshit crazy circumstances seem commonplace.  They continued conversation. Talking about sex and girlfriends and boyfriends and girl friends and boy friends.  And Roulette. And being exposed and being strong and leadership and loneliness. And High School and College and Sanjay and a hacker friend that Lena declined to name.  And betrayal. 

Suddenly it was 9AM again.  Lena reset the time machine as if it were a snooze button.  Dusk again. Who was Lena’s biggest betrayal? Sanjay? Lillian?  Lex? Those assistants? Perhaps those would be assasins? The enemies who hired them?  Or was Death was the ultimate betrayer. Lionel. Or maybe her mother. Alice noticed as the topic of betrayal came up, so did Lena’s walls.  Lena was getting more emotional. Lena was talking in circles. Intellectualizing. Distancing herself. And then suddenly they were talking about Fiona, her death, and Lena wondered how her life would be different if Fiona had lived.

Lena looked at the time machine.  It went without saying what was on her mind.  Lena burned through countless possibilities. 

“Sounds like playing God.  Isn’t that what you accuse your mother of doing?”  asked Alice.

The questions were like daggers to Lena’s soul.  Alice guided her through the pain. Lena cried. She couldn’t remember if she’s cried for the loss of Fiona before.  So many buried memories. Alice wanted to hug Lena. Knew it was wrong. Lena walked to the living room, grabbed a pillow and started punching it.  Alice followed. Instantly knew it had been a technique Fiona must have taught young Lena. The punching brought up memories of Fiona which only made Lena more enraged with grief which lead to more punching until finally a moment came and the rage broke like cloud cover and an emotional exhaustion and burst through and Lena took the pillow and brought it to her stomach, clutching it close.  Sat on the couch. Alice gently approached Lena and asked for the pillow. Lena handed it over. Alice fluffed it gently, putting love back into it. Caressing it. Treating it with tender touches. Lena watched and these soft gestures transmitted right into Lena’s body. Lena felt tingles on her head and back. Alice placed the pillow on the couch and Lena felt a bit more right-sized. Alice sat across from her.

“I just want to see her one more time,” said Lena.  

Alice didn’t know what to say.  It was a frequent wish of clients.  To see their loved ones one more time.  Unlike those countless other clients, Lena could actually do it.  Alice had never taken a class in the ethics of time travel in the clinical care of clients.  

“Will you come with me?”  asked Lena. Eyes red. Cheeks flush with tears.

Alice had spent all morning time traveling with Lena.  Back, back, back to the kitchen. Extending their conversation.  She’d already time traveled to the past. And Lena was going to go anyway.  Wasn’t it better to be with her client? Lena had abandonment issues. How would it affect her if her therapist abandoned her when dealing with therapist abandonment issues.  Alice didn’t respond. The both knew the answer was yes. Albeit a reluctant yes. Luthors didn’t care about that. Consent was consent.

Lena looked up coordinates from her phone and suddenly they were on a street outside a restaurant.  They were both wearing their pajamas and they felt strange but the ambulance and the lights and the commotion were so great that no one noticed them or their strange attire.  Lena watched as they wheeled Fiona out on a stretcher. Her family trailing. Looking at their wife, their mother, being wheeled out, wheeled up into the emergency vehicle. Respirator mask covering her face.  Lena was only ten feet away. She could see the pale pallor on Fiona’s face. Fiona’s hair mussed. Eyes half open and glassy. Lena could tell it was over before it was over. The looming figure of her life, her hero, her savior suddenly mortal, and well on her way to losing even that status.  It was heartbreaking to watch Fiona’s husband, kids, walking behind the gurney, confused, helpless, hopeful. Lena knew their hopes were unfounded. She wanted to run up to Fiona and touch her hand, say thank you. And yet the spinning red lights, the air of inevitability, the family circle. Lena wasn’t a part of Fiona’s life.  She was her client. Lena had never felt more of a stranger to Fiona. What the fuck. She watched them load her in. The doors closing. Everyone making decisions. Lena noticed not one tear had fallen from her eyes. This whole exercise was a mistake. She was an interloper. She didn’t belong here. She reached into her purse.  The coordinates back had been preset. Touched Alice on the arm.

They were back in the kitchen.  It was dawn again. Lena cleared the coordinates.  Erasing the machine’s memory of the trip. It was the least she could do.

“What was it like seeing her again?” asked Alice.

Lena didn’t want to answer the question.  She was becoming enraged again. Alice prodded with precision.  Suddenly Lena was venting about Lillian.

“She doesn’t respect people.  Boundaries mean nothing to that woman,” ranted Lena.  

But Lillian Luthor was on a humanitarian mission.   Alice tried to put her bias aside. Sometimes people who did great service to humanity were cruel to their families.  Lena was telling a story about Lillian, being in her study as a child. Lillian’s desk. The dragons. 

“Look.  I’ll show you,” said Lena.  She grabbed at the time machine.  Entered the coordinates of the Luthor Metropolis mansion.  Took Alice by the arm. Looked into her eyes for consent. Alice tried to look blankly.  Tried to not approve nor disapprove. Wanted Lena to take full responsibility for all of this by remaining neutral.  

Of course, Lena saw all of this in an instant and let Alice go.  Repulsed. Sensing weakness. Alice immediately regretted it. Something deep inside Alice wanted Lena’s approval and it showed in her eyes.  Lena saw that, too. The time travel was making them both emotionally vulnerable. It was a side effect that Lena hadn’t counted on, and didn’t even know was happening.  She attributed her emotions to the therapy. Alice attributed her emotions to being with Lena Luthor. She knew it was wrong, but Alice reached out and touched Lena’s arm.  Just like she had in their first session, when all this started. The first time was an accident. This time was purposeful. Alice was taking responsibility. Joining Lena. Lena wasn’t going to ask twice.  With a flick of the switch they were suddenly in Lillian’s study. 

Dark woods.  Dark heavy velvet curtains.  Leaded windows. Wingback chairs.  Giant portrait of Lillian, Lex and Lionel on the opposite wall facing the desk.  Painted two years before Lena’s arrival. Lillian never took it down. An aggressive act.  The real family. There were plenty of pictures of Lena and Lillian. Photographs in small frames on side tables.  No one could claim Lillian hadn’t included her new daughter. No one dared question her. Not even Lionel. He knew he was the one who created this situation.  He brought Lena into the home and Lillian had agreed to be mother to the child. Making her take down that painting? The one Lillian adored? He couldn't ask that of her, too.  What was it like for young Lena to see that every time she entered Lillian’s study?

Tapestries depicting historical events.  Wood paneled walls. A giant winged mahogany desk.  Lena walked them to the desk. More silver framed photographs.  Inkwell and blotter. Lena sat on the ground. Alice joined her.  The desk’s legs were carvings of snakes. Reared up and ready to attack.  Beady eyes. Their forked tongues.

“Do you know how many years I spent?  Playing on the rug...with these things staring at me?”   
Alice imagined a young Lena at play.  Giant venomous snakes staring at her. Perhaps Lillian was at the desk.  Ignoring her new daughter as she took phone calls on at the corded phone on the desk.  They’d obviously traveled back to a time when landlines were still a thing. 

“When are we?” asked Alice.  

“1995.  We’re all on vacation in the Swiss Alps,” explained Lena.  “And since it’s Sunday, the staff have the day off.” 

They sat on the rug and talked and talked and talked.  About being young. About snakes. About Lillian. 

It wasn’t flattering.

\-----

Choking.  No air. Drowning.  Nose filling with fluid.  Lillian woke up from the nightmare.  Felt a tickling under her nose. Touched blood.  Gushing out her right nostril. Cupped her hand under her face, collecting it, climbed out of bed, headed to the bathroom sink.  Dumped the blood from her hand into the basin. It was a lot. More than ever before.

It started the night after Lillian first time traveled.  Bad dreams. Bloody noses. She rolled up toilet paper into a tight, surgical grade compress and snaked it up her nose, plugging the wound.  

Called her Doctor.  The one who worked for Cadmus.  The one who performed surgeries on members wounded in battle so they weren’t admitted into “regular” hospitals.  The one who prescribed drugs. Who kept prisoners overly medicated. Who kept allies content. Lillian was sliding into an MRI.  The Doctor at the controls. He was stone cold which was what Lillian liked about him. He was a sociopath with a medical degree and very anti alien.  Luckily, he had no interest in taking of Cadmus. If he had, this would be the perfect opportunity. Lillian needing a brain scan? To check for injury?  Long term damage? If they found any, he would keep her secret. He needed her. He enjoyed his position. He got to work. Lillian laid still as her body slid into the narrow tube.

The results were abnormal.

The Doctor had an idea.  He knew a guy. Lillian reluctantly agreed to the plan.  She didn’t have much of a choice.

____

The Scavenger was making a delicious cup of coffee in his kitchen when the text came in.  Of course The Scavenger has a phone. In fact, he has five. Personal. Work. Pleasure. And two burners for when things got a bit extra in any of the aforementioned areas.  This was his personal line. Very few calls came in on that. Just some texts from family members, the technologically advanced ones who knew how to send off planet communiques to Earth and then have them transferred to cellular / satellite data.  Some spam. And friends who wished to catch up. And the occasional….odd request. Favors. The Scavenger loved these messages best of all. So unexpected. Often involving curious circumstances. Always including a personal debt owed to His Truly.  This morning’s text flooded him with feelings of thrill and mystery and intrigue.

“Someone you’d like to meet would like to meet you.”

How could he resist?

\----

Lena and Alice sat on the rug in Lillian’s office.  They were talking about Alex. The possibility of marriage.  What the wedding might look like. Lena kept getting angry.

“Why does the thought of marriage…” Alice didn’t even finish her sentence.  Lena was shifting and flinching. “What are you feeling?” asked Alice, trying to catch Lena in her tracks.

“Angry.”

“Why?” asked Alice.

“This topic just...fills me with rage.”

“Just a minute ago you were talking about a future with Alex.  You were enjoying that very much,” prodded Alice.

“We don’t have to get married to spend the rest of our lives together.”  

“Why do you think people choose to get married?” asked Alice.

“I guess because deep down they want to get divorced.  They must want that. To be publically betrayed. To have a huge ceremony in front of everyone they know promising a lifelong commitment and then - poof - to have failure on that same scale,” said Lena with finality.

Alice kept a neutral face.  “Tell me more.”

Lena was more than happy to continue.  She was on a tear. “People love to be betrayed because then they have a reason...an excuse for literally every single thing that happened before and after.”

“Is betrayal an excuse?” asked Alice.

“Lillian has used Lionel’s betrayal for everything she’s ever done,” said Lena.  She caught herself talking in hyperbole. Arguments that were based around everything ever didn’t usually hold up.  Her emotions were getting the best of her. She tried to rein herself in.

“Have you ever done that?” asked Alice.

Lena’s eyes narrowed.  A lot. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to doing the exact opposite of Lillian.  Having humanitarian goals that protect ALL life. Discovery that benefits the many rather than the few.  That helps children rather than hurts them.” Lena’s heart was beating fast.

Alice could see Lena was at a tipping point emotionally.  She decided to push. She knew Lena was strong. Could take it.

“Sounds like Lillian is the reason you do everything,” said Alice.  

A rage welled up in Lena.  Alice was right. Am I just like my mother?

 

\----

The Scavenger opened his door the moment she knocked.  

“Lillian Luthor.  A pleasure to meet you,” he said.  

Lillian gave him her trademark smile.  The one reserved for people with good manners and ill intent.  She used it a lot. He welcomed her in. Offered her a drink. She refused.  Took her coat and hung it where she could see. She appreciated the decor of the room but kept her eyes focused on him.  Tried to not figure out what material he was made out of. Not 100% carbon, that’s for sure. 

He did the same.  Taking the role of the pleasant host.  Making his guest feel welcome and comfortable.  Not rushing them. Although he was more than eager to hear exactly what the Luthor Matron was after.  Well, she’s after ME after all. Isn’t she? The Scavenger tried to hide his smile. Did Mother Luthor know her daughter had been here at his Saturday night sex party with the world’s most famous alien Supergirl as her date?  The thought brought a huge smile to his face, one he couldn’t contain. Thank goodness he had his back turned to Lillian while hanging up her coat. Then he remembered that little scene Lena and Supergirl stopped to watch. Then he remembered Supergirl coming to him for assistance.  Then he remembered advising Supergirl to go to her, to go to Lena for help. Could this little visit have to do with her daughter and a romance with Supergirl? Was this visit something out of a Victorian novel? Where the good family seeks assistance in preventing a marriage that would disgrace the family name?  

The Scavenger spun on his heel.  Focus on his face. He was bursting with curiosity.  Whatever game was afoot, he wanted to play.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”  he said.

Lillian wasn’t used to being told to sing on command.  And she wasn’t about to start now.

“I don’t mean to be impertient, but may I ask a personal question?” said Lillian.

The Scavenger felt a delicious, almost sexual heat, flush through his translucent skin.  The wafts of his hair seemed a bit more electrified.

“I don’t think that’s possible...for a woman of such refined graces,” replied The Scavenger.

“Are you an alien?” asked Lillian.  You can imagine the look on her face.  Pure poker.

So was his.

\-----

Lena directed her rage at Alice.  Classic transference. 

“Go on, Lena.  Tell me why you’re angry,” said Alice.

“I’ve had therapy before and I know what you’re doing right now is wrong,” said Lena.

“What have I done that’s wrong?  I asked you a question. Is questioning you wrong?” asked Alice.

Lena burned with rage.

“That sounds like something Lillian would do,” said Alice.

“What do you mean?” barked Lena.

“Become enraged if someone questioned her,” explained Alice.

 

\-----

“I appreciate your candor,” replied The Scavenger just as a distinguished man dressed in a traditional butler’s uniform entered carrying a full tea service.  Placed it down and began preparing a cup according to The Scavenger’s preferences. Lillian understood all the power dynamics at play. Hurry up. Slow down. Ask away.  Answers given and avoided with equal dexterity. Disarming. Charming. Cheshire Cat. 

“Do you think he looks like an Alfred?  Or a Jeeves? I haven’t decided what to name him yet,” with that The Scavenger took his teacup and saucer, looked at his Butler and dismissed him.   “That will be all.”

“Very good, Sir.”  The Butler exited.

“Am I an alien?”  The Scavenger mused aloud.  Took a sip of tea. “I was not conceived  of this earth. In that way, I am quiet alien.  And yet, I’m not of this plane. And you human’s don’t seem to have a word for those of us who have mastered interdimensional travel.  I guess you don’t know what I am...due to your limits of both science and language.” He took another sip. “Please don’t get me wrong.  Not only do I accept human frailty, I cherish it. It’s adorable.” 

Insulting her with the truth while looking on with sympathetic eyes.  Putting her in her place. She had come to him for favors. Not the other way around.  Lillian contemplated walking out. But as I said before, she didn’t have much of a choice.

“I’ve heard you’ve acquired an object,” said Lillian, “that can predict the moment someone dies.”

Oh.  So she was here about the mirror he’d just purchased.  Word travels fast. 

“That’s one way of putting it,” he replied.

“I would appreciate it greatly if you would…”  Lillian didn’t know how to finish her sentence.  She didn’t have to. He knew what she wanted. The room turned serious.  He put down his tea cup, the saucer. The clinking of the china was deafening.  He stood up, walked to the Victorian cabinet, opened a drawer, pulled out what appeared to be a mirror wrapped in luxurious felt and sat back down with it.

Was he going to make her beg?

“I’ve met your daughter,” he said.  “Lena is...an extraordinary young woman.”  Lillian read his tone. He wasn’t threatening Lena’s life.  He was praising it. His voice full of genuine affection and admiration.  “Is her life in danger?”

Lillian was conflicted. Why were they suddenly talking about Lena?  Did he...have feeling for her? How did she know him? Perhaps he admired her from afar.  Many men did. And women. And aliens. Apparently Lena’s allure reached interdimensional levels.  Lillian looked proud, annoyed, distracted and disconcerted all at once. The Scavenger instantly understood the complications Lena had been facing her entire life.

“It’s for me,” replied Lillian.

He unwrapped the mirror, careful to have it facing away from him.  Some things are better left unsaid. Unknown. Especially one’s time of death.  He walked over to Lillian, knelt before her like he was the servant, her dutiful butler.  Raised the mirror up and watched her face as she peered into her reflection. He’d never seen a human looking into the Yingling Mirror.  He wanted to see what that looked like up close. Looking directly at their own face at the moment of their death. Would it be shock? Abject horror?  Shock? Confusion? All three??

Lillian just looked...annoyed, confused, dismayed and disappointed.  

“I don’t understand,” said Lillian.

His mirror seemed to be a giant flop.  The Scavenger looked embarrassed. He got up from his knee, turned around to see what Lillian was looking at, careful to do it at an angle so that his own face wasn’t in the frame.  Her reflection looked exactly like the face staring into it.

He’d seen the mirror work.  He’d seen the reflection of the daisy transform until it had matured and died.  So why was the Yingling Mirror showing no change in Lillian whatsoever? Was she immortal?  Was she impervious to death? No. No, of course that wasn’t it.

“This mirror doesn’t tell people when they will die.  What it does is reflects back what someone will look like at the moment of their death,” explained The Scavenger.

Lillian looked back into the mirror.  Harder. Searching for clues. She couldn’t find any.  This mirror seemed to be reflecting back Lillian exactly as she was.  Right here. Right now.

“My guess is...any minute now,” said The Scavenger.

You should have seen the look on Lillian’s face.

\----

Alex woke up.  Went down to the kitchen.  No one was there. And there was no note, either.  “God damn it, Lena.”

\----

Lillian thanked The Scavenger.  Got up, helped herself to her coat.  “You deserve some type of compensation for your assistance today,” said Lillian as she quickly marched to the door.   “I’ll be in touch.” 

They both knew that statement was highly suspect.

\-----

A knock on the door.  Sanjay woke. He was still wearing clothes.  He passed out on his bed after spending the night memorizing the equations he’d photographed.  Then another 20 minutes deleting the photos, the files, then wiping his phone completely clean, performing a total reinstall.  It didn’t take long. It was a burner. Lillian was the only contact. Then falling asleep. Dreaming of power and freedom. From Lillian, from her blackmail, from her agendas and control and harassment and…

And it wasn’t Lillian at the door.   It was two of her goons. They nearly frog marched him into the black SUV.  Put a dark hood over his head and drove him to the Cadmus base. 

The hood was yanked off once they were inside.  Sanjay figured that tt was either a warehouse or airport hanger.  How could the government not find a structure of this size? Was it incompetence?  Or were the government and Cadmus working together? Maybe Cadmus was an arm of the government and all the newspaper articles all a sophisticated disinformation campaign orchestrated by our elected officials?  Allowing them to use the most illegal and unconstitutional methods to corral, control and massacre alien races? Thinking that all of this government sanctioned made Sanjay feel safe. That was mistake number one.

Lillian pulled him aside.  Inquired about his progress at L Corp.  Had he decoded the isotope? There was a woman with Lillian.  Young with dark hair and eyes. Beyond beautiful. Of course it was his fiancee Yasmine.  She wasn’t his finance anymore. Not since working with Lillian. She looked at him with penetrating cold eyes.  They both felt a pang of destiny. 

Sanjay revealed to Lillian that he’d not only decoded the isotope.  He ALSO had the equations that Lillian was clearly working towards. 

“Oh?  Which ones are those?” inquired Lillian, who was growing impatient with Sanjay’s bold tone.  He was acting like he had something Lillian wanted, when in fact he was something she owned. 

“The ones with alien notations.  The spirals,” said Sanjay. 

Suddenly footsteps from out of the shadows.  It was Eddie. He walked right up to Sanjay, getting in his face, as if Sanjay had just talked about Eddie’s girlfriend.

“Prove it,” said Eddie.  Pushing Sanjay towards a giant chalkboard made of plexiglass, pushing a bright writing implement into his hands.  Sanjay looked towards Lillian. Who is this guy? Pushing me around? Sanjay was the scientist, the engineer, the secret weapon.  This scrubby, schlubby guy wasn’t the type Sanjay was accustomed to being bossed around by. Lillian gave Sanjay a nod. Write. It.  Down. Yasmine watched.

Sanjay wrote a line of code from the middle section of the equation.  Part Earth Math. Part Kryptonian math. When Sanjay’s hand started the swirl pattern, five squiggles of varying length, two small on top, large in the middle, two smaller swirls on the bottom, Eddie’s eyes grew wide.  Sanjay finished. Clearly not knowing what it was that he had, but knowing that he had it and that they wanted it. They needed it. Sanjay never felt smarter. That was mistake number two.

Eddie walked over towards Lillian.  Whispered in her ear. Told her that Sanjay must have discovered not only a time travel formula, but one that used the isotope, which meant that it was a stable form of time travel.  Sanjay had what they’d been looking for. 

Lillian realized a few things all in an instant.  Lena had captured the isotope. Lena decoded the isotope.  Lena discovered stable, consistent time travel. Lena had done everything Lillian had set out to do.  Only faster and better. Lillian didn’t know whether to feel envy or pride. A combination of those feelings is what Lena usually conjured up in Lillian.  And Lillian decided this is what mothering a daughter feels like. So she relished it. Lena had done everything Lillian needed to eliminate the alien race.  Mother and daughter working together to save the world from alien pestilence. Lena had done the science and mother would do the deed. Use the new time travel to being the nuclear weapon back to just before Fort Rozz enters the atmosphere.  Killing all the aliens. Well, all but Supergirl and her cousin. They’d have to be eliminated some other way. 

Then Lillian realized something else.  With a stable form of time travel, she could travel back to when she wasn’t brain damaged.  She started to muse on ways in which she could take a new MRI, one that gave her a clean bill of health.  Stick to the plan, Lillian. First things first. It was a mantra that had served her well over the years.  She put her hand lightly on Eddie’s shoulder. Comforting, reassuring energy exuding out of her fingertips. Pushing him aside, but in a way that said, let mother take care of this.

Lillian now walked up to Sanjay.  Put the writing implement back into his hand.  And instructed him to continue. He balked. Yasmine, Eddie and a few goons were watching.  Sanjay kept the focus on Lillian. He knew everyone would follow her every word. Sanjay started making demands.  For his freedom. For more money. For final payments. For promises and contracts.

“Normally, I would find all of this very interesting,” responded Lillian.  “Unfortunately, there just isn’t time for this. I have treated you like family, Sanjay.  Now write out the equation.”

“No,” said Sanjay.  “Not until-”

Lillian turned around and pointed at her goons.  They grabbed Sanjay and brought him to a medical table.  Strapped him down. The beautiful young woman was now standing over him.  

“This is Yasmine,” said Lillian.  “You two will be working together until that equation is on the board.”

Sanjay looked towards the board.  Eddie was there, ready to write everything down.  The sound of a sharp snap. Yasmine was putting on latex gloves.  She raised some pliers. Immediately snapped off Sanjay's left pinky finger.  Clean off. Sanjay screamed. She hadn’t even asked him a question. Yasmine cleaned the wound as Sanjay screamed and sweated and bled.  Lillian left the room. She had faith in her team.

\----

Lena was pacing around Lillian’s office.  As if she could feel Sanjay’s torture session.  A session that was happening in the future. Or was it in the past?  The timelines were all happening at once. Don’t try to track the multiverse along a single line.  It can’t be done. 

The portrait hanging above.  All the Luthors staring at her.  All the Luthors. Except Lena. The real family.  Without the bastard daughter. The Luthors. The snakes.  Everywhere Lena turned, eyes of cold blooded predators bore down on her.  

And last but not least, the giant mirror behind Lillian’s desk.  The final predator’s eyes. Lena herself. Angry and dangerous and vulnerable and alone.  She hated that feeling. And in this moment, hated her family, her circumstances, her life, this room, her name, even herself.  Especially the parts of her that were like her mothers. Both of them. The one who abandoned her in death and the one who raised her in life.  

Lena picked up a giant paperweight from Lillian’s desk and hurled it at the mirror.  

Alice had ducked for cover, sheilding her head a bit.  But the mirror didn’t shatter. And the paperweight fell to the floor with a thud.  Instead, three large cracks appeared, spidering out from the point of impact. All of which lacked drama.  

Lena couldn’t see her face anymore.  The cracks obscuring her reflection. The power of the mirror had broken.  Warped. Not reflecting anything of value anymore. Just colors and bits of the room.  Lena just stood there feeling impotent.

Alice needed to take control.  Calm her client down. She approached Lena.  Was going to give her a soothing hand on her arm.  Hesitated. Remembering what happened the last time she did that.  

Lena kept looking at the mirror.  Thinking about loss of control, shattered dreams.  And what the staff would think when they found this.  

And then, as they both stood there not knowing what to do next, one of the giant cracked pieces of the mirror fell out of the frame and onto the floor.  Behind it, were there should have been wall, was a secret, recessed area. 

Lena’s anger helped her discover Lillian’s hiding place.  Lena’s face changed instantly. From hurt daughter to bad ass time traveler.  Lena got the fire poker from the living room, brought it back to the office and knocked out the remaining parts of the mirror.  Inspected the frame. It was fused to the wall. The mirror raised into the wall via some secret button. Maybe a remote that Lillian carried on her.  (Correct, Lena.) No matter. Lena had broken in through brute force and the contents were now hers. A lock box without a lock. Apparently Lillian was confident that no one would ever find this.  (Correct.) Lena opened it and found a notebook, some family pictures and a letter. Before she could decide what to look at first, her phone rang.

The sound was startling.  Lena and Alice looked somewhat afraid.  They were both interlopers, intruders, in a space and time where they shouldn’t have been.  Lena looked at her phone.

It was the Scavenger.

Lena put the call on speaker.  She didn’t want to have to explain all of this to Alice later.  

“Lena, hello,” said The Scavenger.  The sound of his voice brought chills to Alice.  “I’m sorry to call at such an early hour, however, I have some news that feels rather urgent.”

Lena and Alice had no idea what time it was for him.  They kept their mouths closed.

The Scavenger cleared his throat.  

“It’s about your mother.”


	25. Chapter 25

The Scavenger cleared his throat.

“It’s about your mother.”

Lena said nothing.  She’d been on the receiving end of bad news so many times that she knew it was coming whether she prompted for it or not.  Whether she she was ready or not. It was coming. It always kept coming. Especially when it came to her family.

“I procured an item.  A mirror. That reveals to whomever gazes into its face, exactly how they will look at their time of...expiration.  Your mother was just here and the mirror reflected back exactly how she looks now. Which means....”

The Scavenger’s voice trailed off.  Lena started doing calculations. 

If Lillian knew that she would be dying shortly, what would she do?  Use the time machine to go back in time and buy her some more time. Of course.  What might be the cause of death? Murder, most likely. But by who? The government.  An Alien. Disgruntled employee. Former friend. Me.

Me?

Lena’s eyes blew wide open.  The calculations had happened faster than thought.  Her conscious self was taking notes while her brain offered up scenario after scenario.  She was surprised when one of the multiple eventualities was herself. 

Would I?  Could I? Kill my own mother?  Technically she’s not my actual mother.  She’s my adoptive mother. Not my blood. And the leader of a terrorist organization.  Lex on the other hand, my brother, my blood brother, by half, my best friend, turned incarcerated mass murderer...could I kill his mother?  No. NO. I couldn’t do that to Lex. No matter what type of mental state he’s lapsed into. I love Lex. I could never kill his last living relative.  No matter what.

Alice watched Lena’s mind racing through unthinkable scenarios.

The Scavenger cleared his throat.

Lena realized there was a call to end.

“Thank you for this call,” said Lena.

“It is my pleasure to be of service,” said The Scavenger.  Then quickly added, “To you.” Making sure Lena knew the special status she held with him.  That this call was truly a courtesy not extended to most anyone in his circles. Lena instantly understood that in any other circumstance, someone looking into this magic mirror of his, and seeing their death was imminent, in days or perhaps even hours, The Scavenger would have been in absolute delight.  Watching someone process news most horrible, a riddle oft asked in parlor games, what would you do if you knew when you would die, what would you do if you knew today was your last day, to see this game made manifest in the eyes of the soon to be recently departed, the shock and disbelief and grief and confusion and denial.  Oh, how The Scavenger would have relished that. Instead, he was calling Lena. Knowing this particular situation might cause her pain. Might be a bother. Might disrupt her day. Might require some planning. Might require some spine and steel. Spine and steel is probably what Lillian offered him when she saw her reflection.  Maybe The Scavenger can have his fun another day. With some other mortal, one with weaknesses, one who’s face betrays thought and feeling. Today wasn’t that day. Lena felt better. 

She ended the call without anything further.  

\---

The Scavenger stood in his parlor.  Staring at his phone. He’d just explained that he’d done Lena a special favor just for her.  Usually the response to that would be, I appreciate that. Which would be the opening to a discussion of favors returned.  By ending the call without a single word, Lena was rejecting any premise indicating she owed anyone anything. The Scavenger made a choice.  He was thanked. Transaction over. 

For some reason, all of this made The Scavenger like her even more.  For other people, they would be the actions of the entitled and ungrateful.  He knew Lena was keeping her boundaries clean. She didn’t need to trade in favors to curry status.  She wasn’t the type of woman who thanked people too much, who thought she needed to “do more” to keep friends.  She was widely disliked and had accepted that long ago. She would make her own way, thank you. Lena accepting a bit of help felt like a gift.  The Scavenger smiled.

Then looked at his phone.  It had just been teeming with life.  Teeming with connection. A direct line to the mouth, mind and heart to Lena Luthor.  Now it was just an object in his hand. Dead. Lena gone. Elsewhere. A location unknown.  The Scavenger suddenly felt very alone. It wasn’t something he often felt.

\----

Lena was still thinking.  About murder. About mother.  

Alice was still looking.  At Lena. At the letter. The letter Lena located.  Lillian’s letter. Who was it from? Who was it to? Why was it hidden?  Alice saw that the letter had a bright red wax seal. It had never been opened.

As for the call, yes, Alice had listened.  To the lilt in The Scavenger’s voice. The man had not identified himself by name.  The tone of his voice both deep and rich and yet playful and teasing despite the serious subject matter.  Fantastical subject matter. Alice remembered she was dreaming and for a moment marveled at how imaginative her brain was, she’d never fancied herself an imaginative type.  Her trade was dealing in the here and now. Dealing in the facts. She came back to Lena. Her client. Alice was on the clock. She straightened up. Tried to look professional.  Being in Lillian’s office did that to people. Even when she wasn’t in it. 

Lena sighed.  “So it looks like my mother is about to be murdered.”

Lena was at a loss.  There was so much going on.  The end of the world. My relationship with Alex.  Maggie Sawyer was shot in my apartment. My double dragged her off with Alex’s double.  My relationship with Alex. The synthetic kryptonite experiments. My fucking therapist here with me.  Oh, yeah. I just witnessed the death of Fiona. So there’s that.

Lena brushed off the shards of glass from Lillian’s chair and took a seat at her mother’s desk.    
Lena looked positively exhausted.  

On the desk in front of her was a letter, a notebook and some family pictures.  Lena stared at them. While Alice stared at her. Alice knew when not to push. Lena needed a moment.

\----

Lillian also needed a moment.  She’d just walked out of the main room.  Leaving Sanjay strapped to the medical gurney, while Yasmine was snapping on Latex gloves and picking up pliers while Eddie stood at the ready, dry erase marker in hand.  Waiting for Sanjay to give up the formula. Lillian had just left the room when she heard Sanjay’s sudden screams. It was obvious Yasmine hadn’t yet asked a question.

Lillian winced.  Not because Yasmine began the torture before giving Sanjay a chance to cooperate.  No. Lillian understood it could be argued as an effective, efficient tactic for truth extraction.  And it certainly wasn’t because Sanjay, her surrogate son who had been so loyal over the years that he’d effectively given up his entire life to supply Lillian with the secrets she desired.  No. Lillian understood that Sanjay had been withholding. And that was NOT part of the agreement. For all the money she’d funneled to him...and that he’d taken...he owed her. He owed her everything.  And now she was collecting. And if she needed to collect pain, then so be it. 

The wince, the shudder that ran through Lillian’s spine, was a feeling that spanned time and space.  Something somewhere had shattered. Something deeply personal to Lillian. Something she was passionate about.  Something that felt like trust. Had been broken.

It was similar to seeing a ghost.  Or walking through a patch of ice cold air in a hallway.  Lillian’s stomach dropped and she felt sick and vulnerable.  Her five senses went into overdrive. A quick inventory. She was in HER base, the Cadmus base, where everyone and everything was loyal to both her and her cause, she was alive, sentient, feeling, seeing, smelling, hearing.  She looked down. Maybe she’d been shot. Maybe the feeling of cold was from blood loss. She looked down, inspecting her body, her hands running up and down her coat, outside then inside, front and back. Then around her neck.  Poison darts shooting at her from out of nowhere wasn’t exactly out of the question. Then her head. For bruises. Lumps. Had she been hit? She seemed fine. 

Lillian assumed the mirror must have given her a bit of a fright.  She hadn’t felt that for a long time. She shook it off.

Being a Luthor, Lillian was right. It was the mirror that gave her such a shiver.  It just wasn’t the mirror she was thinking it was. For you see, Reader, the shiver that Lillian experienced happened the very moment that Lena had shattered the mirror in Lillian’s office.  The mirror that covered Lillian’s secret compartment. The one that hid Lillian’s secret things. The secrets Lena had just found.

\----

Lena sat at the desk.  Stared at the three items.   Notebook. Photos. Letter. Each one felt like an emotional landmine.

Alice sensed it was time.  

“So you think your mother is going to be murdered?”

“I don’t think so.  The mirror says so,”  Lena realized how insane that sounded.

“There’s a lot to unpack there,” replied Alice.  Lena couldn’t help but smile. There certainly was.  That didn’t mean Lena wasn’t going to be contrary. I mean, she was sitting at Lillian’s desk.  A family portrait that didn’t include Lena staring down at her. She was itching for a fight.

“It’s not like there haven’t been attempts on her life before,” said Lena.  Adopting a blase posture and tone that anyone could have seen through. Lena was emotionally time traveling back to when she was a teenager.  Visiting your parents house can do that to a person.

“How did it make you feel?” asked Alice.

“You mean how did THEY make me feel.  There’ve been multiple attempts,” clarified Lena in a very extra way.

Alice just looked at Lena.  The question remained unanswered.  Lena wasn’t used to people waiting for her to fess up.  It was a feeling she hadn’t felt since, since the last time her and Alice talked like this.  Which was in the kitchen. Earlier this morning. And ten plus years in the future. The kitchen that Alex would go to when she woke up.  The empty kitchen in the empty penthouse. The one where Lena didn’t leave a note. Not one indication that she’d be back, that she’d gone time traveling, that she was safe, hadn’t been kidnapped.  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Maybe when I return, I can go back in time to five minutes before I left, then I wouldn’t have ever been gone.

Although I’ve already seen my double.  Does that mean when I go back there will be two Lena Luthors?  People hate me enough already. If the people of planet Earth find out I’ve cloned myself, they’ll hate me twice as much.  They’ll probably try to kill the clone. But what if they kill me and leave the clone? What if killing one of me kills both of me?  Or, or…

“Lena, where did you go?” Alice’s voice stopped Lena’s thoughts in their tracks.

Lena looked guilt ridden and afraid.  Alice knew it was best to occasionally confront issues head on.

“Lena, many people think about killing their mother.”

\----

Alex arrived in the kitchen.  The empty kitchen. The one with no Lena.  And no note. Alex marched to the guest room, the one that Lena had put Alice Champion in.  Lightly knocking on the door. No answer. Peeking inside. No Alice anywhere. They were gone.

Alex exhaled in anger.  In addition to being the most brilliant, the most sexy, the most fascinating woman...she could occasionally be the most infuriating.

This feeling.  Infuriation. That Lena had left despite all the dangers.  Alex realized that her gut reaction actually meant that Lena was fine.  That she’d left, quickly. Wasn’t abducted. Alex breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Took out her phone to text Lena.  Right before she could hit a button, a text came in.  

From Vasquez.  “I found something.”  Alex texted back, “RVP?”   It was DEO shorthand for rendezvous point.  Alex wanted to know where to meet. Vasquez texted back an address that Alex knew all too well.  

The rendezvous point was Maggie Sawyer’s apartment.  

\-----

“I don’t think about murdering Lillian,” said Lena.  Wasn’t using the word mother. A classic maneuver to distance and deflect.  Alice noticed.

“I asked about your mother,” said Alice.  Boring into Lena with relentless pacing.

“Lillian’s not my mother,” replied Lena.

“Then who is?” asked Alice.

“My mother died a long time ago.  And I’m not wishing for that to happen again.  One is already...too much.” Lena’s neck muscles tensed.  Lips stiffened and quivered. The tone a warning. Change the topic or risk being being removed.  From the list of people Lena trusted, to some other list. A list of people not to be trusted. Not to be seen with.  Risk being put on some inner list that Lena kept written on the interior of her heart. This list kept Lena safe and Alice could see in Lena’s eyes some internal pen raise up, a quill, dipped in blood and ready to transcribe the exact sequence of letters that would seal Alice’s fate.

“And yet it DID happen again,” said Alice, stepping forward.  Coming closer. Physically. Psychologically. “Fiona died. She was your second mother.  A surrogate. Who nurtured. And died. We both just saw it.”

Lena’s heart.  Racing. Lena seated.  Alice standing. Moving towards her.  Invading her space, her mind, her heart.  Lena’s eyes blew wide. Alice was morphing from ally to a looming figure of cruelty.  The tips of the quill could be used to strike. If it were real. If she was holding one.  Which she wasn’t. Her tongue would need to serve as the dagger. 

“Get.  Back,” said Lena.  The enunciation. Bright and clear.  Pointed and polished. Like steel sanded down to a flawless mirror finish.

Alice stopped in her tracks.  But did NOT step back. The tension.  Thick and electric. It felt like absolutely everything could change.  

\-----

Alex parked her car a few doors down from Maggie’s house.  Checked the street for suspicious vehicles. She’s been here hundreds of times prior and recognized every single car.  White Volkswagen subcompact SUV for the Harringtons. Black Prius for the Fakhoury family. And the sun damaged light green car cover over the widow Turner’s 1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible.  Shame she never dries that thing. What a beauty. Alex first noticed it the morning after her first sleep over at Maggie’s. Drinking coffee, standing by the window, looking out at the neighbors houses, afterglow, Maggie walked up behind her, wrapping arms around her waist, getting up on tip toe to nuzzle Alex deep in her neck.  

Alex mentioned the Cadillac peeking out under the car cover in the driveway opposite Maggie’s house.  It was an older neighborhood that the fix and flippers hadn’t descended on yet. Loads of one story homes with driveways and carports.  Little metal coverings to protect cars from the elements. This car was double the size of the corrugated metal roof. The cover nearly covering.  Which led to coveting. That night after more love making, after a day of movie watching and lovemaking, and napping and teasing and barely eating (readers, the puns I could be making right now) they needed oxygen, they needed moonlight.  They dressed in pajamas and sneakers and these two highly trained women, a detective and a secret agent, slipped out of Maggie’s house in pajamas and sneakers and crept across the street, trying not to giggle, trying to not be seen, trying to not wake the neighbors, least of all Mrs. Turner, carrying mini torches and arrived at the cadillac.  Alex found it breathtaking. She lifted the protective covering more carefully than you would remove the dress from the shoulder of a virgin. Running her finger along the perfect paint finish. The polished chrome. The exterior side mirrors encased in metal.

They kept the cover on the car.  Slipped under it. Slipped inside.  Alex at the wheel. Maggie riding shotgun. Turning on their flashlights under the tarp, sitting in the convertible like two children who’d built a fort under blankets.  This fort had leather interior. Alex ran her hands along the steering wheel. Imagined what it would feel like to take the car on the open road. Probably like sailing.  

Maggie had to push herself four times across the front seats until she reached Alex’s side, the car was one of the widest interiors ever made in a car.  When she arrived, Alex instinctively put her arm around her, pulling her in close. Her other hand on the steering wheel. As if they were riding into the sunset, picture perfect.  They sat there for a long time. Not speaking. Both flashlights on the floor, a warm faint glow by their feet like firelight, the dashboard, the speedometer, museum quality. A classic.  A relic. A time machine. They were literally sitting in the past. 

Alex didn’t often allow herself to dream of the future.  Her future dreams had all ended when Kara showed up. Everything that she’d pictured was suddenly changed.  Not for worse. No. Not that at all. But changed nonetheless. Family vacations were now plus one. A plus one whose secret Alex needed to help keep under wraps.  Little did Alex know, she was keeping her own secret under wraps. So secret, she’d kept it even from herself. Now that the secret was out, now that she was out, sitting in that time machine with Maggie, Alex allowed herself to do something she’d stopped doing a long time ago.  She dreamed of the future. A happy future. One where she was married. To the love of her life. To a woman. To Maggie. The dream included this Cadillac. This very one. Decorated with streamers and tin cans tied to the back. Just married written in soap on the window. Alex and Maggie would leave the church hand in hand, their friends and loved ones throwing flower petals over them as they ran hand in hand down the stairs to the car.  This car. The one they would drive off in. Wedded for life.

A lump formed in Alex’s throat when she saw the Cadillac this morning.  A lump of guilt and shame. And regret. Deep regret. What had she done.  What had she given up. Things had been moving so quickly with Lena that Alex never even begun to process the loss of Maggie.  She got out of her car and walked to the front door. The air cold and hollow. She felt like her footsteps were echoing throughout the neighborhood.  Even her breathing felt loud. Were her ears ringing? Alex swallowed. Her heart race increasing as she reached the walkway leading to the front door.  Her fingers going cold. Blood rushing away from her extremities and towards the major muscle groups. Blood needed by these muscles should she need to run away.  Fight or flight responses. Light headed as blood drained from her head to her heart, the heart that was beating faster and faster. At the door now. I need to knock.  Lifting her arm. Heavy. Fuck. I’m having a panic attack. Alex started deep diaphragmatic breathing. Knocked at the door. Reminding herself that panic feelings only last a few minutes.  The body has biological overrides that prevent the panic response from lasting longer than that. Slow, deep breaths from her diaphragm. The door opened. It was Maggie. Alex smiled. Kept these panic feelings under wraps.  Kept the guilt and regret under wraps. Kept it all pushed down deep.

“Danvers,” said Maggie.  She didn’t look happy to see Alex.  She didn’t look unhappy, either. I guess that’s to be expected.  Maggie opened the door and Alex stepped inside.

\----

A dagger is a knife with two (or more) sharpened edges.  With a deadly tip atop a perfectly balanced center spine.  Was Lena’s tongue the dagger? Or her whole body? And the tongue was just the tip?  A thrusting weapon. And Lena had just pulled one on her therapist. A verbal one. Luckily, Alice was more than used to clients placing their anger onto her.  And was deft at turning the temperature down.

“Lena, we’ve traveled back in time to witness the death of your previous therapist.  I certainly hope you aren’t looking to a repeat of that, as well.” Lena realized how right she was.  It was laughable. Lena didn’t laugh. Alice continued. “And now we’ve traveled back in time again, to your mother’s office, where you just lashed out in anger, destroying property, destroying a mirror.  Which as you must know…”

Lena finished the sentence.  “Is like killing yourself.”

Alice was glad Lena was catching on.  “Perhaps killing off the part of you that you don’t like.”

“The Luthor part?” inquired Lena.  Genuinely curious.

“Is that what you were doing?” asked Alice.

Lena didn’t know.  What was she doing?  Lena took a breath. Looked down at the desk.  Saw the items. Picked up the notebook.

“Lillian was hiding this,” said Lena.  More to herself than to Alice. “She’d been hiding this ever since I was a teenager.”  Lena ran her finger along the leather. She was scared to open it. Lillian’s most secret thoughts.  So secret they were in a secret chamber in her private office. Lena wasn’t supposed to see this. What if this is where Lillian wrote down all of her hatred for the bastard daughter Lionel forced her to take in?

\----

Maggie led Alex to the kitchen where Vasquez was waiting.  Maggie gait was stilted and Alex remembered the gunshot. The wound.  She put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder and Maggie flinched. They both knew it was from having Alex’s hand on her with a feeling of tenderness and care.  It wasn’t safe for Maggie to get used to that. It could lead to complications. For everyone. Alex took it away. Vasquez watched the whole thing without saying a word.  Thought to herself, thank god I’m single. She hadn’t felt that for a long time. It felt good!

\----

Alice watched Lena finger the journal.  Alice felt her fear. What are you waiting for Lena?  Time is of the essence. Despite urging herself on, Lena couldn’t open it.  She felt sick to her stomach.

“What are you feeling?” asked Alice.

“Sick.  And afraid,” said Lena, looking at the journal the whole time.  Offering up her feelings as if they were facts to go into a report.  Detached.

“Afraid of what?” asked Alice.  “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Lena thought for a moment.

“I’m a Luthor by blood.  She is a Luthor by marriage.  That means she chose to be a Luthor.  Do you know how much madness you have to have inside in order to do something like that?  Lex is already in prison. He lost his mind. If I look into the Lillian’s madness…” 

Alice could connect the dots.  But she needed Lena to say it. If you can mention it, you can manage it. (*Fred Rogers)

“It’s the unsaid things that control us, that drive us mad,” said Alice.

“I don’t want to stare into madness and turn mad myself.  I don’t want to lose my mind. My mind is all I have.” Lena spoke with finality.

Lena’s statement implied isolation.  It implied logic over love. It implied vulnerability, an achilles heel.  On some level Lena believed that she was on a constant tipping point of becoming criminally insane.  Like her brother had. There was a lot to unpack here. Alice wasn’t sure where to start. 

Lena’s hand opened the leather notebook.  Smoothed the pages down flat so that it was completely exposed before her.  Controlling the information. Dominance. She was enraged at the thought of some inanimate object having power over her.  Lena took a deep breath. Steeling herself for what was to come. Then looked down and began to read.

\----

Maggie showed Alex the dressing, which had been done to the highest standards, tight round her waist, the wound well packed, taped tight enough to allow an agent to fight in battle, should unforeseen circumstances arise.  Maggie knew Alex wouldn’t be able to concentrate without knowing it was done right.

They got right down to business.  After battling giant rats at the Veterinary offices, both the DEO and the NCPD began investigating.  The DEO focused on analysing the rat carcasses for Alien DNA, matching it with the DNA in their database.  The NCPD, well, they had a different approach.

“What could the NCPD possibly do without having a body to examine?” asked Alex.

“Alex, there have been...rumors.”  Maggie looked hesitant to continue.  The kind of hesitant you have when you are about to share something incredulous.  “Dating back to like, the 1940s. Of rats.”

Alex looked at Vasquez.  Vasquez had already heard the entirety of the tale and was on board.  Maggie continued. 

“I mean, every city has rat problems.  Rat legends and lore. But what city has had stories of giant rats?  Like - rats the exact size and shape of the ones you battled in Haz Mat?”

Alex paused.  Giant rat rumors were hardly a stretch.  Probably every city had those rumors. “Go on.”  Alex would need a bit more to get where they needed her to be.

“Giant rats that appeared out of a swirling vortex.”  And with that, Maggie concluded her presentation.

“A swirling vortex slash interdimensional time machine thingy,” added Vasquez.  Acting as if that provided some sort of clarity. 

Which to Alex, it did.

“Maggie, Lillian Luthor has created some kind of time machine.  We were looking for a way to stop her. And I think you just found it.”

“Go on,” said Maggie. In the exact same tone of voice Alex had just used.  Alex couldn’t help but smile. Maggie’s lightning quick sass was one of her most attractive qualities.  Maggie noticed the smile. Didn’t smile back. Just looked at Alex as if to say I know and it’s not just this that you’re missing.  

Alex continued before Vasquez was subjected to more ex lover interaction.  Vasquez didn’t mind one bit. The only thing that could make this any better was a bucket of popcorn.

“The shortest distance between two points isn’t a straight line.  It’s a time portal,” said Alex. No one was following. “Lillian has a time machine.  Lillian is the one making these vortexes that the rats are passing through. Find the portal.  Jump through it.” Alex pounded her fist her hand. “Bam. We got Lillian.”

It was as if Vasquez had been lifting a piece of popcorn to her mouth and stopped mid air.  This plan sounded...not too well planned.

“What?  What??” said Alex.  She’d just figured it all out.  Why weren’t they seeing the elegance of design?  Why weren’t they appreciating the fact that Alex had just found a route to the enemy?  These two were her subordinates. Frankly, they should be on board with this plan simply due to rank.  Alex started feeling rankled. 

Maggie took a tone that only an ex lover would feel so entitled to take.  To make matters worse, they were in Maggie’s home. So the tone also implied remember that you’re a guest in this house so take a seat, take several seats.  And to make matters even worse, the tone implied I already did it your way and I got shot, remember that? No? Well, good thing I’m here in my home to remind you!

“Danvers, you want us to find a freaking time portal?  And just...jump through it? No knowing what’s on the other side?  What if Lillian is there waiting for us with Kryptonite lasers pointed right at us.  What if we time portal ourselves right into the middle of a giant rats nest with hundreds of hungry giant rats.  Our guns did jack shit at the vet.” Maggie was nowhere near done and Alex started to wither in her seat. “Even with Supergirl and ten DEO agents we don’t know if we’ll even have half the weapons needed to save our freaking lives much less conquer whatever Lillian has waiting on the-”  Maggie groaned in pain and clutched her side. Alex was too withered to get up in time. Vasquez was already on her feet, hoisting Maggie up under her shoulder. Maggie’s eyes were now daggers. Pointed right at Alex. Was Alex responsible for Maggie’s earlier life threatening situation?  Yes. Was she just asking for everyone to possibly risk their lives again? In a mission where they don’t have all the information? Yes, again. Alex’s heart sank to her feet. What was she thinking? What had she been thinking all this time? Where was Lena? They were the ones that were supposed to be working on this.  Together. Instead, Lena had disappeared with someone named Alice, leaving without a word, without a note. Alex sat in Maggie’s kitchen. The kitchen where they’d made meals, coffee, love. Alex looked at her feet. Defeated. No one said a word.

\----

The contents of the notebook surprised Lena.  it wasn’t a journal of thoughts. It wasn’t the secret rantings of a cruel and cold heart.  Yes, it was Lillian’s handwriting. That was for sure. A signature cursive, unmistakable. But what it wasn’t was prose.  

It was a list.

A list of names.  

Lena’s expression changed on a dime.  Her mind erasing previous assumptions while gathering data.  Reading down name after name. The list of names went right down the middle of the page.  Lena flipped through the remaining pages. They were all blank. She went back to the first page.  Counted twenty names in total. Who were these people? And why were they in this notebook?

Alice stepped forward.  The energetic boundary Lena had created was gone.  Alice peered at the list from the opposite side of the desk.

“Who are those people?”

“I don’t know,” said Lena.  Her mind was racing. She pulled out her smartphone.  Started googling. Started with the first one. Pointed at her name.  “This woman...lived a few blocks from us. From here. She was a neighbor.  Married to a financial analyst. I don’t remember them ever visiting.” Her finger traveled down to the next name.  He was another resident of Metropolis Lena didn’t recognize. It wasn’t until she got to the fifth name, wasn’t until she googled it that she remembered.  Paul Maripane was the gym teacher at her elementary school. What was his name doing in this notebook? Lena remembered an incident when Lillian pulled Lena out of school in order to attend an award that was Lex was receiving.  Lillian took Lena out of gym class early so she could change and be presentable. Mr. Maripane tried to pull rank on Lillian. Dressing her down in front of his students. Trying to not be completely emasculated by Lillian barging in and making up new rules, rules that applied to her and her daughter that he was powerless to override.  He hated that. They exchanged words. Lillian let him huff and puff for a moment and while he was mid rant, she coolly turned to Lena, took her hand, bade the other children farewell and walked out of the auditorium. Everyone had a received a lesson in class and power. The power to simply walk away, unbothered, was often the biggest power of all.    And yet here his name was. Lena took a closer look at the list. These names had been written in the same pen, yet at different times.

Lena understood.

“This notebook is a list of known enemies,” said Lena.  

And she was exactly right.

\-----

Alex sat in Maggie’s kitchen.  Watching as Vasquez helped Maggie sit down.  A deafening silence hung in the air. 

So when Alex’s phone rang, it sounded three times louder than normal.  Alex pulled out her phone. It was Lena. Everyone saw the name on the screen.  

“Where are you?”

“I’m in Lillian’s office,” said Lena.  Which was true. There was no need to tell Alex that she was in her office in Metropolitan City.  No need to mention that she was calling from 15 years in the past. “I found out what Lillian is using the time machine for.  She’s got a list of enemies and is hunting them down one by one.”

Alex knew to trust Lena completely.  Alex took this statement as fact. And if Lillian Luthor had a list of known enemies, which to be honest, of course Lillian Luthor had such a thing, then there was something else that of which they could be absolutely certain.

“Then Supergirl’s name is on that list,” said Alex.

Maggie and Vasquez perked up.  Supergirl. On a list? What list?

Dear reader, did I neglect to mention that when Lena read the list, that the very last name on it was Kara Danvers?

Shame on me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to all readers still following this story - and especially to bakedvick who roused me from my slumber and got the muse to whisper in my ear the next part of the tale. More to come, my lovelies.


	26. Chapter 26

“Then Supergirl’s name is on that list,” said Alex.

“No,” said Lena. “But your sister’s is.”

Alex gulped. She could hear it in Lena’s voice. Lena knew Kara was Supergirl.

Alex turned to the wall, cradling the phone so that neither Maggie nor Vasquez could hear. Since they were mere feet away, it looked rather ridiculous and certainly not worthy of a top level spy. Alex spoke low into her hand which cupped the receiver.

“Where are you?” asked Alex.

Lena looked up at and locked eyes Alice Champion. They were both being watched.

“I’m in the past,” said Lena.

Alex turned back to her companions in the kitchen. Maggie and Vasquez staring at her. Hard. They were supposed to be figuring out how to stop Lillian. Not taking phone calls. Alex sat there with the phone against her face. Not saying anything back. Maggie was supposed to be the one in her past. Not Lena. And yet here Maggie was, very much in the present. Lena was now the lover calling from the past. 

A strange sense of ennui washed over Alex. Nothing felt real. Everything felt impossible. Implausible. Was this all a dream? None of her training prepared her for this. If it was a dream, when did it start? In the restaurant on their first date? Maybe one of those chocolate churros was bad. Maybe I went home that night. We had been fighting. Lena was acting strange. Maybe I went to bed alone and- 

“Alex? ALEX.” Lena’s voice turned sharp. And loud. Maggie and Vasquez both heard it. Alex seemed unresponsive. Just sitting there in a daze. Maggie grabbed the phone out of Alex’s hand. Alex didn’t resist. Her muscles all slack. Her mind slack.

“Lena? It’s Maggie. What is going on?” 

\-----

Reader, what happened next was a series of events so extraordinary that I scarcely know where to begin. Hold on to your hats.

Maggie put Lena on speakerphone. Alex sort of came to and confirmed that it was safe for Lena read in Maggie and Vasquez. Lena explained the current state of affairs concerning the Luthor family, time travel, alien extermination. 

Upon hearing that both Lena and Lillian Luthor both had time machines and were concurrently working to both end and save the fate of every alien on the planet, J’onn J’onzz dropped his disguise as Maggie and started admonishing Alex with the kind of fury and kindness that only a surrogate father figure slash boss slash Martian Manhunter could have having just learned that he and everyone like him was the target of a alienocide and his quasi daughter slash employee slash adoptive sister of the planet’s alien protector had disobeyed everything he’d ever taught her, gone rogue and was putting her life at risk to save everyone’s asses.

Alex wasn’t too bothered by J’onn’s tirade. She was too busy cringing over the fact that all the mixed emotions she’d been having over her ex were actually over her boss slash adoptive father slash oh never mind what else. After keeping her stomach from churning over, Alex stood herself up, found some gumption and gave everything right back to J’onn. Telling him he could have just asked instead of staging an elaborate ruse as her EX LOVER. J’onn tried to defend this decision and as they went round and round for a solid minute, which felt like an eternity for both participants and witnesses. It’s own type of time travel. 

Finally, Alex barked, “I was trained to lie and take risks and to save as many lives as possible! So if you don’t like how I am or who I am, maybe take a look at the person who trained me to be like this!” Which of course was J’onn himself. You could have heard a pin drop as they all silently looked for the lie and found none. What happened next was not nothing, it was a silence so deep it stretched over a decade into the past.

Lena and Alice Champion sat on the other end of the line. In Lillian’s office. In the past. On speakerphone. Listening. Alice had a look on her face that screamed “these people need therapy.” Lena smiled. She wasn’t the only one who needed a therapist. Despite all the danger that was snowballing, Lena managed to feel a little self satisfied. A nice feeling. Then Lena saw Alice staring at her, with a look that said, “Hey honey, you are the architect of this time traveling mess. So maybe cut the smug and get to work?” Actually, Alice just looked at Lena without any judgement, but that’s not what Lena saw. Isn’t life funny that way?

Lena leaned in close to the phone and cleared her throat. Loud. Like a CEO who just caught a gaggle of employees goofing off. It worked. J’onn and Alex stopped fussing. Immediately putting their differences aside. This time, their training was on their side. Unfortunately, time wasn’t. Time was not only of the essence, time was the battlefield. First things first. Triage.

“Where’s Maggie now?” asked Alex. 

“DEO Med Bay,” replied Vasquez.

Alex instantly knew that Vasquez had orchestrated this entire ruse to get on J’onn’s good side and advance herself. Could Alex blame her? Yes. She could and she would. But not now. Frankly, right now she needed all the help she could get.

Alex gave Lena the coordinates to Maggie’s house, plus the date and time. 

“Be right there,” said Lena, and then ended the call.

But she wasn’t on her way right there. She was standing in the middle of Lillian’s office with a shattered mirror and a broken secret compartment. This would not do. So Lena called a contractor, let him into the Luthor manse, realized she needed an NDA, popped back to the future before all this shit happened, located her attorney’s most recent NDA, changed the date to the past, printed it out, time traveled back to the past, had the contractor sign it, then went several hours into the future, saw that the repairs were done perfectly and the office was back to the way it needed to be, showed the contractor out the door and then told Alice they were ready to go. Lena would have taken Alice with her on all these time traveling journeys, however, as you well know Alice gets a little ill with time travel, so Lena set Alice up in one of the mansions sitting rooms. 

There were several books in the sitting room. An array of enormous coffee table books on subject matter that felt dangerous, colonizing, fearsome. Peter Beard, H.R. Giger, Gothic Architecture, Yale University Press. Alice turned from these and noticed a few leather bound volumes on a shelf, with no title on their spines and gilt edges. She slid one towards her and when she opened the cover the book cracked as if it were the first time. The title page: A History of the Luthor Family, 1434 - 1998. Alice dived in. From Lena’s perspective, her time spend overseeing construction took only minutes. In reality, it was several hours and Alice devoured every single page. Learning about the Luthor’s regal origins (the Holy Roman Empire’s current region of Romania); Martin Luther, one of the families earlier forebears, his rejection of the Catholic Church and its teachings, the families earliest traces of intolerance for institutions that they themselves did not build, their rejection of old teachings, their embrace of a movement based on scholarship and the tenets of predestination - named after, who else - themselves. Lutheranism. 

Their migration to France and England. Their participation in the French Revolution. Other arms of the family tree serving as advisors to Catherine the Great as she ascended to power in Russia. Another arm of the family serving as architects of the Franco Prussian war. Nearly all contributing to the age of Enlightenment, some as monks. Transcribing sacred books while locked away in towers. Some of those books disappeared. The contents rumored to be the keys to ancient spells, alchemy, cartography. Aiding anyone who possessed them in locating and ransacking ancient tombs of civilizations most prized leaders. And other secret tombs. The ones located in a man’s heart. 

It was like reading Frankenstein. Fantastic. Dynastic. Terrifying creations. Hybrids. Man and beast. Something in the Luthor bloodline carried genius and madness. Something driven to control men, to free men. A dna that was at odds with itself. The double helix of good versus evil swirling inside. The history in this volume concluded a decade before Lex’s...troubles. Lena and Lillian were battling as to how the next chapter of Luthor history would be written.

“Ready?” asked Lena. 

Alice snapped the book shut. Stood up.

Of course the Luthor family had discovered time travel. Of course the Luthor family was at war. With an entire race. With each other. It felt more dream like and more real than ever. Alice looked at Lena. Lena looked striking. Her jaw. Her eyes. Her mouth. It felt like, if Lena wanted to, she could bare fangs. Would Lena drink blood like her rumoured relative Madame Bathory? Alice stood up. Lena programmed the time machine and took Alice’s hand in hers. Lena’s hand felt warm and inviting. With a flip of the switch, and using the coordinates given by Alex, they instantly appeared in Maggie Sawyer’s living room. Then sauntered into the kitchen where Alex, J’onn and Vasquez were. To them, this arrival happened a moment after their call had ended.

The very next day, a maid would enter the Luthor manse and see the book Alice had left behind on the table. The only thing that appeared out of place. That maid slipped it back on the shelf. And no one was any the wiser that there had been any visitors. 

\-----

Lena took command. Opened the photo on her phone. The list. The names. Explained Lillian was using time travel to kill all known enemies.

“Why?” asked J’onn.

Everyone looked at Lena for the answer. Then they looked at Alice. Who the hell was she? Alice didn’t feel it was her place to explain.

“She’s with me,” said Lena. And that was that. 

They’d already lost precious time fighting over Alex’s lies. Were they really going to spend time debating about whether or not this woman had the proper security clearance to be participating in what was rapidly turning into the DEO’s most urgent mission? Frankly, the woman had just time traveled. So perhaps she was the second most credentialed person in the room. (Remember, Lena Luthor was there.)

Lena cut him off. “There’s only one reason. One of them must be in her way.”

Everyone took this in. As fact. Lillian was in the middle of a plot to destroy all aliens. If she learned someone was thwarting her efforts, she would eliminate them. And if she didn’t know *exactly* who it was, then she would eliminate them all. Lillian was *that* bitch.

So the four of them devised a plan to stop her. While the fifth, Alice, stood to the side and watched.

\----

Of course Lena was right. Lillian had created a time machine. You knew that already. But Lillian’s time machine wasn’t like Lena’s. It was flawed. Everytime Lillian used it, thousands of capillaries in her brain burst. Her brain was twisting and warping. Lillian was getting paranoid. Lillian needed a better time machine. And in order to do that, she needed Lena’s formula. Needed Sanjay to steal it for her. And that’s exactly what he did. 

Unfortunately, Sanjay got the notion that it would be something he could bargain with. You knew that already, too. Recall - Sanjay getting more than he’d bargained for. Going to Lillian’s secret Cadmus base and meeting the love of his life for the “first” time. Yasmine. The woman he was destined to marry. To love until the day he died. A destiny Lillian stole from him when she traveled back in time and began her blackmail campaign, turning Sanjay into a Luthor asset. You remember all of that, yes? Then back to our story.

It didn’t take long for Yasmine to extract absolutely everything out of Sanjay. I won’t bother you with the details of his torture. Just know that as he was tied down to the gurney, he was staring into the eyes of his true love as it all happened. Heartbreaking, no? Picture the tears welling up in his eyes. Picture Yasmine’s cold, unfeeling look as she took a hand-held ceramic tile cutter and snapped his finger clean off. Picture his screams. All that and more. Until every last mathematical function was extracted from him. 

As Yasmine tortured. Eddie transcribed. Writing it all down in a notebook. At times, cursing under his breath at the bits he should have figured out. Other times, marveling at the mind of Lena Luthor. By the time he was finished, he stared at it. The formula he’d been chasing his entire adult life. The vortex had appeared. On paper. In front of him. Fully exposed. And all he could think about -- was Lena. She had vanquished the Vortex. Like the Athena, Lena was like a goddess of wisdom and war. Eddie had a proper crush. What was it with Eddie and these brilliant and unattainable Luthor women? 

Eddie radioed Lillian and told her the good news. Lillian lightly hummed in satisfaction and said “I’ll be right there.”

Yasmine packed crushed ice into gauze and wrapped the stumps where Sanjay’s fingers were. The two digits she’d removed were in a makeshift cooler nearby. Lillian arrived and walked over to meet Yasmine and Eddie. Yasmine quickly covered the fingers with a nearby cloth, so as to not offend Lillian’s eyes.

Eddie looked out through red and swollen eyes and saw Lillian put her hand tenderly on Yasmine’s shoulder. Lillian said to her, “Excellent work.” Lillian had never said anything like that to Eddie. Salt in the wound.

Yasmine asked Lillian, “Do you want me to sew them back on?”

Lillian turned to Sanjay. On the gurney. Sweating. Bloody. Nearly passed out. So much blood gone. Too little soul left. Hands packed in ice. The gause turning pink from blood.

“Of course,” said Lillian. “He needs to be back at work on Monday.”

Through the waves of pain pulsing through his body, his soul, Sanjay heard and understood. He still worked for Lillian. His eyes slits. Glazzy and dazed. He realized he would always be working for Lillian. Or he’d be killed. 

Yasmine started putting him back together. Piece by piece. Finger by finger. Stitching with silence, precision. Dare I say...with care? It surprised her. How did it happen? Well, she was holding his hands. She needed to touch him carefully. Acting with care brings up feelings of care. It’s not rocket science, Reader. Emotion came forth. 

His eyes closed all the way. He relaxed into her. Something about this felt so tender. So right. Her caring for him. Them being together. The love they shared from their marriage - in the other timeline - finally came pouring out of both of them. Them being together felt so right. And yet this moment was so utterly, utterly awful and inescapable. Their fates were tied. For better Or worse. In this timeline, it was worse. Sanjay closed his eyes and cried the whole way through. Yasmine watched and her heart broke in ways she never knew were possible. It made her tremble. She needed to keep steady in order for the stitching to be perfect. In order for Sanjay to report back to work for Lillian. Yasmine bit the inside of her cheek until it bled. Regained her focus. Turned her heart to stone - again - and finished the task at hand. (Pun intended, Reader. Don’t @ me.)

\----

Lillian’s first stop was to go back in time to her office in the Metropolis Manse and retrieve her list of known enemies. If her plot to rid the earth of all aliens was going to be fool proof, she needed to make sure nothing and no one would get in her way. As she put the coordinates into her new time machine device, she had to give credit where credit was due. Unlike the enormous bulky machine that Eddie had built, Lena’s formula allowed for a device that was both elegant and sleek. And small enough to fit inside a purse. Maybe Lena did listen to me over the years, said Lillian. Crediting herself. 

She opened the secret compartment in her study, not noticing the repairs Lena had done on it several years ago, pulled out her notebook, opened it to the list of known enemies, took a photo of it with her smartphone, returned the notebook, closed the secret chamber that housed it, took a deep breath and calculated the coordinates for the very first name on the list.

Lester McGillicutty.

He would be Lillian’s first kill.


	27. Chapter 27

Lillian liked to watch.  Through the restaurant window, her Cadmus assassin, dressed as a waiter, white gloves, white towel draped over his arm, pouring tea.  Tea laced with plutonium. He waited for the tea to cool. Not wanting to burn his tongue. It felt like an eternity for Lillian. Sitting in her limousine.  Parked on the street outside. Using the opera glasses given to her by the Argentinian Ambassador at opening night of Don Giovanni at the Teatro Colon. The theater had just completed extensive renovations.  Lillian was 6th row center. Her favorite seat. Next to her, two Nazi officers that served under Hitler. Now living in Argentina under assumed names. Hiding from the Hague, the international criminal court in charge of prosecuting war crimes.  Lillian kept her conversation with them to a minimum. She wasn’t a monster. 

Watching.  Waiting. 

A few waiters passed by.  Blocking her view. When they passed, she saw him raise the teacup to his lips.  Sipped. Lillian could see the look of satisfaction on his face. Tea at the Four Seasons is, understandably, delicious.  She knew he would finish his. Not that it mattered. One sip was all it took. In a couple of weeks, he would fall ill. The symptoms coming on slow.  Such is the case with internal radiation poisoning. Death by plutonium was a wonderful way to kill, as it gives an assassin literally weeks to make a clean getaway.  Lillian gave the divider window two light taps. The driver pulled away.

Plutonium was perfect in other ways.  For one - it’s everywhere. It’s inside you right now.  In the fish you eat. The cigarettes you smoke. It’s just not enough to kill you.  For that, you need a nuclear reactor. Luckily, Lillian had one. Picture Lillian’s thin lips.  The slightest, smuggest smile on them as the limo pulled away from the curb and down 5th avenue.  

Now picture, through another one of the restaurant windows, two menus lowering.  And behind those menus. Lena and Alex. They were watching Lillian the entire time.  Alex and Lena turned to J’onn and Vasquez. Both were dressed as waiters. The waiters that had momentarily blocked Lillian’s view.  Using a slight of hand to change his tea as they passed by.

This was the fifth kill they’d thwarted.  By this time, their operation was going like clockwork.  Lena was running point. Picking out Lillian’s targets, methods and kill locations with near surgical precision.  Lillian would “witness” her enemy “drink” the “poison” and leave. Letting her believe that she was successful was the easiest way to stop mass carnage, argued Lena.  Her logic was sound. Can you imagine if Lillian was time traveling all over the place, with the DEO stopping her mission? It would have turned into an all out war. The best way to keep Lillian in check was to have Lillian believe that everything she planned was going according to plan.

J’onn was impressed with Lena’s reasoning and thought she would make an excellent head of the DEO one day.  He kept this idea to himself. Knowing full well that Alex would lose her shit. Promoting someone over Alex?  Someone with no previous DEO experience? A Luthor? Making Alex’s girlfriend Alex’s boss? That’s what they were, right?  Girlfriends? He kept questions along those lines to himself, as well. They had a mission to complete.

Everything was going perfectly until they arrived at Lena’s elementary school.  Lena remembered this day all too well. Paul Maripane. Gym class. Lillian would be pulling Lena out out of gym glass, without warning, without permission, without a noe.  Paul would try to flex. Would stand up to Lillian. Would dress her down. Some men can’t bear for anyone to see a woman have power over them. Some men need to display their brutish, petty nature even if it’s just to a room of young girls.  People are strange.

While Lillian was in the gymnasium, collecting 5th grade Lena, listening to this nothing of a man rant, her man was entering Paul’s office, dressed as a janitor, and giving the inside of Paul’s favorite coffee mug a clear, plutonium wash.  A wash that was untraceable and would instantly, lethally mix with whatever liquid was placed in the mug. Killing the drinker. Killing Paul.

Lena, J’onn and Vasquez had bugged his office with video cameras.  They watched it happen from a remote viewing van parked near the school.  

“Now,” said J’onn.  He was speaking into a microphone that led right into Alex’s ear.  

Alex was already in the school.  Disguised as a substitute teacher, circa 1980s.  Tweed skirt. Shoulder pads. Wig. Pumps. Fake glasses.  Lena desperately wanted to tease Alex about this outfit, but exercised restraint as they were with two of Alex’s colleagues.  She bookmarked all of her internal comments for later use. Alex touched her hand to her ear. 

“Roger that,” said Alex.  She turned the hallway. Passed the fraudulent janitor who headed out a side exit, snapped on surgical gloves, easily picked the lock on Paul’s office, entered pulled out a radioactive waste bag, scooped up the mug, sealed the bag, hid everything in her tote bag, locked the door behind her and started heading back to the van when suddenly -- things didn’t go as planned.

Lillian was holding Lena’s hand.  Leading her out of the school towards the limo.  Little Lena stopped in her tracks. Yanked her hand out of Lillians.  Lena, J’onn and Vasquez all watched as Lillian and young Lena started fighting.  No one could hear what was being said. It looked intense.

“What’s happening?” J’onn asked present day Lena.  At this point he was accustomed to Lena having all the answers.  Lena looked positively baffled. 

“I don’t remember any of this,” said Lena.  It’s because this argument never happened. The timeline was changing everyone in it.  Past and future selves, their actions, their feelings, their emotions and decisions and thoughts were influencing all versions of themselves.  Little Lena’s hatred of Lillian had been growing, now that Lena knew Lillian was responsible for her generation’s Nazi-type plot to eliminate aliens via genocide.  Little Lena was sure she didn’t want to go with Lillian. Anywhere. Little Lena wanted to stay in school. And that was that.

Lillian wasn’t used to this type of backtalk from Lena.  Lillian wasn’t used to her plan not going perfectly. Lillian saw her man, dressed as a janitor, head out of the school via a side exit door.

“Lena, this is very important to me,” said Lillian.

Little Lena looked up at her adoptive mother and said, “School is very important to me.  Are you telling me that you’re more important than me?”

“Lena, no.  Of course not.  I am, however, your mother.  And I am responsible for you.  As the adult, I am the decider.  And I cannot let you go back into that school.”  Lillian knew if she sent Lena back, Paul might pull her into his office for a talking to.  Lillian couldn’t risk that happening. Couldn’t risk Lena getting poisoned by proximity to that mug.  The mug that, if he was a creature of habit, and he was, that Paul would be drinking out of as soon as class was over. Which was in five minutes.  “When you are an adult, you will be able to make your own choices. Until that time, as your legal guardian, the choice is mine. And you are coming with me.”

Young Lena burned.  Now that present day Lena had cracked time travel, had made a working time machine, has thwarted her mother’s assassination plots several times over, had a girlfriend, had flown in Supergirl’s arms, owned and operated several companies, and had weathered the death of Fiona, who technically she was still seeing since she was in the fifth grade, young Lena burned with a confidence and a steeliness and a righteousness.

Lena, J’onn and Vasquez watched wide eyed through the van’s front window as Young Lena shouted something in Lillian’s face, turned on her heel and ran back to the school, right as Alex was exiting it.

They ran SMACK into each other.

Young Lena looked up at Alex.  Alex looked down at Young Lena.  There was more than a connection there.  Young Lena could feel it. Young Lena looked up into Alex’s eyes like she was seeing a ghost.  Or a god. Young Lena felt like she was looking straight up into the face of someone she idolized.  And she’d never seen this woman before in her life.

Naturally, Alex’s stomach dropped clear out of her body and three feet into the earth.  Lena was both in front of her and in the van. Lillian was 5 meters away watching her. An a plutonium laced mug was in her bag.  

Lillian strided right up to Alex.  Grabbed Lena’s hand.

“I’m not your property!”  yelled little Lena. Right in Lillian’s face.  Lillian was furious. Alex tried to not smile at the impunity of young Lena.  

J’onn spoke into Alex’s radio.  “Get that plutonium out of there.”  Alex tightened her arm around her tote as young Lena and Lillian were in a tug of war with young Lena’s arm, her body, her selfhood.

“No!” said young Lena.

“How DARE you speak to your mother like that!”  It came out suddenly. Sharply. Surprising Alex.  Instinct. Training. Both of the Luthors stopped dead in their tracks.  Turned to look at this mysterious substitute teacher. Despite the disguise, Lillian knew Alex’s face from somewhere.

“Mrs. Luthor, on behalf of your daughter, I apologize for this type of behavior.  It’s is not something we tolerate her at the Wallis School for girls. And may I say, it’s both an honor and a pleasure to meet you.”

Young Lena was disgusted at the unctuous flattery.  It gave young Lena’s skin a greasy feel from head to toe.  On the other hand, it was Alex. And something inside young Lena wanted her praise, her love, her approval.  And right now all she was getting was Alex’s disdain. 

“I should hope not,” said Lillian.  Who assumed Alex looked familiar because she was a member of the faculty and not because she had once held a detonation device three feet from Lillian’s face, then detonated it, destroying years of Lillian’s life work in an instant, willing to kill the both of them in the pursuit of the destruction of both Lillian and her ideals.

“It’s school policy to correct this type of behavior immediately.  I realize your time is extremely valuable. I would like to pull Lena aside and administer a correction.  With your permission, of course,” Alex hoped this would work.

Lillian contemplated.  “Lena’s education is my first priority.  By all means.” Young Lena shot Lillian a look.  She knew it was a lie. If my education is the first priority, then why are you pulling me out of school!

J’onn, Lena and Vasquez watched with baited breath as they watched Alex pull aside young Lena for a talk on a bench near the front of the school.

Alex wasn’t used to talking to children.  And she certainly wasn’t used to talking to the child version of her girlfriend.  They were girlfriends, right? Well, they would be in the future. Alex tried to stay in the game.

“Lena, my name…”

“Yes, I need to know your name because I’ve never seen you before in my life,” responded young Lena.  

Oh, boy.  This is going to be a doozy, thought Alex.


	28. Chapter 28

“Lena, my name…”

“Yes, I need to know your name because I’ve never seen you before in my life,” responded young Lena.  

Oh, boy.  This is going to be a doozy, thought Alex.

\---

Lena waited with bated breath, almost not breathing at all, excited and anxious to hear what her lover might say to her child self.  J’onn was nearly holding his breath, too. What were the consequences of this? Of two versions of one person in the same moment of time, getting information from the future?  Even if he did know the consequences, he didn’t have control of the time machine. It was Lena’s. And Lillian had one, too. And if he took Lenas, then Lillian literally would control time.  What I’m trying to say is - he had to roll with it. As for Vasquez - she was just trying to keep up. Poor Vasquez.

Little Lena was also eager to hear what this woman had to say.  The woman in the bad wig, who clearly wasn’t a teacher at this school, substitute or otherwise.  The subs all had a terrified look in their eyes, as this was a prestigious school and paid well and all wanted to be kept on the roster for future assignments in hopes it would turn permanent.  The terror also came from the fact that last year a students parents (not the Luthors) sued a substitute teacher for bringing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into the teachers lounge and potentially exposing their child, who never entered the teachers lounge and whose classroom was three halls and 45 yards away from the lounge in question, that could cause anaphylaxis.  AKA peanut gate. The parents won. In the form of the school firing the teacher and paying a settlement to the family (amount undisclosed.) 

Most people understood that the family was just throwing their weight around to ensure their child’s peanut allergy would be taken seriously during the duration of their time at the school, which ironically didn’t last long as the parents soon relocated to Taiwan to oversee a new branch of a hedge fund heavily invested in Bitcoin.  The father’s office in Metropolis threw him a going away party and several anonymous farewell packages arrived for him to open: Peanuts. Virginia, butternut, dry roasted, salted. Ballpark peanuts that have to be cracked before you eat them. Peanut butter in jars. Peanut butter cookies. Homemade in a tin with wax paper. His office was literally overflowing with these packages.  Hundreds of them. Presumably from substitute teachers throughout the city, somewhere postmarked from several states away.   
Not one had a note.  They didn’t need them.  They were all screaming, “and don’t come back.”  

He’d never felt so hated.  The people in his office were snickering.  Openly. The packages just kept coming. From various delivery services.  He tried to refuse delivery, but they just left the boxes there anyway. He called down to the front desk and tried to have them stop all deliveries and they patiently explained it wasn’t their job to monitor what packages are coming in for who and that was the responsibility of each company in the building.  His office was full of finance assholes who screamed and shouted at him to take a joke. He just had to let the packages keep coming. On the way home from work he called his wife and explained what had happened. Then he drove to a hotel near their house, got a room, requested a garbage bag from the front desk, stripped off all his clothes, put them in the bag, took a shower, washing off every trace of potential peanut dust from his body, his hair, his beard, toweled off.  Heard the knock. Took his wallet and phone, and answered the door wearing only a towel. Stepped out into the hallway where his wife was holding his gym bag, opened it, took out pair of double knit track pants, pulled them on, pulled the towel off, slid his feet into a pair of flip flops, picked up the bag, put his wallet and phone in it and walked with her to the elevator shirtless. Didn’t lock the door behind him. Leaving the trash bag behind and the door open. Zipping up a matching double knit jacket over bare torso.  Neither said a single word.

But this substitute teacher didn’t seem afraid of getting fired or sued.  And she didn’t seem too keen on working here. And she didn’t seem afraid of Lillian.  So why was she fumbling for words. And her bag. There was something off about the way she held it.  Young Lena has received extensive kidnapping training. She knew to look for signs. Strangers. Acting strangely.  The way Alex sat, spoke, moved. Check. Check. Check.

“Tell her you’re from the future,” blurted Lena into Alex’s earpiece.  Urging her to give her younger self a leg up, a nugget of hope, a raison d’etre.  J’onn’s head whipped to Lena. It was an incredible sight to see a Luthor act spontaneously.  Recklessly. Purposefully. Going rogue in a daring and defiant stroke of brilliance combined with self interest.

Before J’onn could reproach Lena, Alex “scratched” the inside of her ear and turned off the earpiece.  Everyone in the van realized they could now no longer hear what was happening or assist Alex.

“Lena!” yelled J’onn.   Taking off his headset and throwing it to the floor of the van in a rare fit of frustration.  Lena instantly knew she’d gone too far. Not because of J’onn’s vocal displeasure. But because Alex had turned off the comms device.  You don’t get to be CEO by overly caring about other people’s feelings, especially people you barely know, especially people who have spent their career helping Superman and various government agencies try to kill and imprison half your family.  So please try to envision Lena’s supremely unbothered face as J’onn had a little temper tantrum. It was wonderful.

“Lena, my name is…”

The woman started to speak again.  The exact words she’d said before. Stopping at the exact place she had before.  It was like a computer glitch. Was this woman a robot? No one could make a robot blush and sweat.  As little Lena’s eyes roved all over Alex’s face, taking in every single detail of her features, Alex blushed even harder.  Her fake eyeglasses were starting to fog up. Alex couldn’t risk taking them off as Lillian was watching and might recognize her.    
“My name is Samantha Arias,” said Alex.  It came without much thought. She needed a name.  And one she KNEW that Lena hadn’t heard before. This one fit the bill.  And yet since both Lena’s from both timelines were now working in conjunction, influencing the other with feelings and bits of memory, on subterranean levels of the subconscious, little Lena felt that she’s heard this name before.  But where? Maybe this woman had been a substitute teacher. Had they met before? Little Lena immediately vowed to increase her powers of recall by finding all the memorization exercises she could. She couldn’t allow herself to be a person who forgot things.  A new life path was set.

“And I need you to know…”  Alex continued. Taking her time.  Lillian was now tapping her foot impatiently.  Little Lena was already rehearsing her pitch to Lionel, a pitch that involved finding the world’s leading expert on memory and hiring him to be a private tutor.  The class bell rang. Lillian and Alex both visualized all the girls and the instructor streaming out of the gym. Visualized the instructor heading to his office for his coffee break.  Alex just needed to fill a few more minutes. Alex and Lillian’s eyes met. Why wouldn’t they? They were both thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time. That type of activity brings about a magnetic affinity.  Granted, it’s not one that lasts very long. Lillian’s face quickly turned sour and impatient. Reminding Alex the reason for the sit down.

“That respecting your elders is important.  Your mother wants what’s best for you and it’s important to listen to her and be obedient to her wishes.”

The words rang hollow.  To everyone. Alex didn’t believe what she was saying.  In fact, Alex felt the exact opposite. Little Lena needed to know that Lillian was bat shit cray.  Little Lena needed to stay true to herself. Needed to hold her own. 

Little Lena already knew all of those things - on some level.  Which is why Alex’s speech left little Lena staring back at her dead eyed.  Alex needed to think fast. The only thing that would work with Lena was the truth.

“Listen,” said Alex.  Her tone turned conspiratorial.  She leaned in and spoke low so Lena’s mother wouldn’t hear.  “This is a brutal world. Far more brutal than you even know.  You’re rich. And brilliant. And beautiful. These things protect you.  Now you need to learn to how to protect you. And that doesn’t mean reacting and rebelling against every single thing you see that’s wrong.  You need to learn strategy. Tactical thinking. The long game. Alex remembered the chess board in Lena’s office at L Corp, the one with the black and white pieces.  “You play chess, don’t you?” Little Lena barely nodded yes. She was so focused on not only what Alex was saying, but the fact that she was saying any of this. No adult had EVER spoken to her like this.  No adult had ever told her the truth. “In chess you have to think several moves ahead at all times in order to achieve your agenda. Don’t do things without thinking them through.”

Little Lena was captivated.  Alex saw Lillian check her watch.  

“Running away from your mother today - what was that going to accomplish?”  asked Alex. 

Little Lena contemplated.  Gave a thoughtful reply. “I’m letting her know that I have some power.  And I’m not afraid to use it.”

“So you’re giving her a warning?  Giving her an advantage?” asked Alex.  Little Lena was shocked. Alex was right.

“By acting in an undisciplined way, I was actually giving my power away,” said little Lena, catching on quickly.  She was very interested in power. The science of it. Physics. Forces. Electromagnetic. Atomic. Nuclear. Psychological.

“Exactly,” said Alex.  Impressed with the little girls mettle, the little girl’s mind.

They both sat in silence as little Lena integrated this important lesson.  Never let them see you coming. Never let anyone know what you are doing and why.  Keep your cards close to your chest. Keep your intentions hidden. Your ideas secret.  Information proprietary. Feelings private. These concept and ideals crystallize inside of her.  Was this conversation with past Lena the reason why present day Lena was obsessed with secrets? Was obsessed with memory?

Lillian checked her watch again.  Alex was trained to keep time without needing to refer to a watch.  Bombs, rescue missions, flight simulators, deep sea diving, chest compressions.  There were countless situations where she needed to know how much time was passing.  One more minute to go. 

Alex looked deep into little Lena’s eyes.  Little Lena knew what she was about to hear was more true than the previous lecture.  Little Lena prepared herself for the worst. Braced herself on the inside. What would it be?  Something about her family name? Something about being a bastard? Adopted? Half Luthor and half Other?  Half nothing? About never escaping a legacy that hadn’t even happened and yet little Lena could feel in her bones was on the way?  

“When you grow up, you will be so loved - by people you aren’t related to in any way.  You will create a new family for yourself. All over the world. A network of friends and helpers.  You will hand pick them and they will be loyal to you. They will be true to you.” Little Lena’s core shuddered.  What on earth was this woman talking about? “They will love you.” Little Lena looked at the woman. The wig. The fake glasses.  She seemed in this moment to forget all about her bag, the one she’d been guarding and protecting just moments earlier. Her eyes seemed to be pooling with tears.  If this woman was acting, she was hella good at it. 

None of the love Alex was trying to convey penetrated the little girl.  Not one single bit of it. Those crystals I mentioned earlier? They coated her heart.  A beautiful crystalline fortress that would keep her safe and through which nothing would penetrate for many, many years to come.

Alex felt a bit foolish.  Practically declaring her love and fidelity to her girlfriends childhood self.  And getting nothing in return.

Lillian saw the front door of the school open.  The gym teacher appeared. Holding his mug. Giving Lillian the stink eye.  Watching Lillian stand there as a teacher disciplined her child. They hadn’t even made it to the limo!  Lillian could have let her kid stay in gym class. Taking her out early had saved her no time at all. He felt smug and satisfied knowing her plans had been foiled.  He took a nice long sip from his mug. Lillian watched. And a similar smug and satisfied look emerged on her face. Without wasting one single second more, Lillian strode over to Alex and Lena.

“Darling Lena, you’re right.  Your schooling is of the utmost importance to be and it’s best for you to remain.  Lillian kissed Lena on the forehead, turned on her heel and walked off. Not needing a kiss back.  Not needed anything from her daughter. It was stomach turning. For one single moment, Alex felt the abandonment that Lena grew up with her entire life.  The abandonment of a mother who constantly walked away. 

The irony was that Alex also had to leave.  And she didn’t want to be associated with what just happened.  Didn’t want to be another person, another adult woman who just walked away from Lena.  As Alex tried to think of something to say, little Lena got up, turned on her heel and walked back into the school.

Just like her mother.


	29. Chapter 29

Before they began traveling back in time, before they started thwarting Lillian’s assassination attempts one by one...they had a slight problem.

What to do with Alice?

The only reasonable thing was to keep her locked inside Lena’s penthouse until they returned from the mission.

“Just, um, help yourself to anything in the kitchen. We’ll be back before you know it.” Those were Lena’s last words to Alice, who watched as Lena pulled out the time machine, turned it on, and Lena, Alex and the two other government agents - a handsome black man and an obvious lesbian - disappeared.

When people simply teleport away from you, let me tell you, it feels lonely as hell. The penthouse suddenly felt cavernous. Alice looked around. She’d been here before. Why did everything feel so different? She tried to soothe herself by making a cup of tea. Finding the spoons in a drawer suddenly felt like trespassing. Taking the spoon and placing it on the counter. Clink. The sound seemed to echo throughout. Everything sounded louder. Heightened. 

Alice opened the refrigerator. The hum from within, normally inaudible, seemed to roar. Her footsteps on the stone floor. Clack, clack. The tea kettle water boiling, roiling. Making a mighty sound, alerting anyone within earshot. I’m hot! I’m ready! Alice poured her tea. (Herbal.) Took the cup and saucer and headed to the living room. 

Something seemed different. What was it? Were these the same pillows? Was that vase there? I don’t remember that coffee table book. Alice felt like she was living inside a “spot the differences” dual panel comic. Things had changed. Little things. She could see it. She could feel it. But she didn’t have the other panel to check. She couldn’t compare the two. The apartment as it looked before Lena went back in time and started making changes to her life, to her mother’s life, to all those people’s lives, that penthouse was gone forever. Only this new penthouse, the penthouse of the ever changing now existed. Mostly the same as before.

Mostly.

Alice’s mind instantly started adapting. Questioning itself. Maybe that book was there and I didn’t notice it? Maybe I used the restroom and someone pulled the book off a shelf and laid it down? Maybe the vase was there and I didn’t see it? There was a lot going on? 

These questions and more raced through her mind at the speed of thought. She wasn’t thinking them. Her brain was. Trying to adjust to reality. Trying to make sense of things. Not wanting to believe that the 3D world was anything other than permanent, solid and unchanging. The mind hates when it’s wrong. It hates to not fit in. The mind will do anything to adjust to what’s in front of it. That’s it’s job. It’s why scientists are often called pioneers. Trying to prove that what you’ve been thinking all this time has been wrong is a nearly impossible task. The mind itself resists, will trick you, will plague you with doubt and denial. In less than 20 seconds, sitting with her tea, Alice couldn’t really tell if anything had changed at all.

It had, of course. Lena’s childhood self had a life changing talk with Alex. A talk that changed her in subtle ways. Ways that would create profound internal changes and subtle external ones. What was once a lavender vase was now emerald green. A difference that might seem like a simple color change. But the previous Lena chose lavender for its soothing, feminine energies. This new version of Lena instead selected green because it was the color of money, of envy, of nature itself - the most powerful, unstoppable force in the world - and her own eyes. Eyes ever facing forward, circular pupils, only found on animals that chase down their prey. 

A book on Gothic Cathedrals once selected as an homage to science and design wedded in the celebration of all that is holy, monuments made by hundreds of individuals over decades in order to create a safe place to congregate and worship the inexplicable and the divine, was now Richard Avedon’s Woman in the Mirror, a contemporary photography book about women, about women who are alone, posing, looking beautiful, looking like architecture themselves, every piece of clothing, every bit of makeup, every movement carefully selected to create an image. Lena related. In a way, the book itself was a time machine, taking the reader back to one single fleeting moment in time, that the camera captured. A camera shot these women. Big game. In the wild. Now doomed to live these moments for eternity in the pages of this book which can be closed and opened like a cage whose inhabitants have no control over. And yet the real woman lives on. What someones sees and what actually is are two different things. Lena learned this lesson well. To present an image. For her own purposes and intents. And to not care what other anyone else thought about it.

The shag rug under the glass coffee table, which once had flecks of sparkle woven in the threads, now was pure snow white, like the pelt of a Polar bear, symbol of an apex predator vanquished. The legs of the table over it like a wrestler pinning his opponent down. Conquest had become vitally important to the new Lena.

Alice couldn’t see any of this. I mean, her eyes were seeing it. But her brain wasn’t. Her brain was saying, vase on the side table? Check. Yes. That was there. Coffee table book? Yup. That was there, too. White rug? That was here. Alice’s brain was desperate to believe that everything was the same. Honestly, it’s what our brains are doing most of every day. Such a shame.

Alice blew on her tea, which was still piping hot, and contemplated just how she was going to busy herself while this government strike team traveled through the years to make sure that things remained the same. That people remained alive. Alice imagined that it would take a long time. She sipped her tea and started to think of ways to occupy herself when suddenly there was the loudest sound of all. A giant CLAP. Like thunder. And the four of them were suddenly back in the penthouse. Lena. Alex. J’onn. Vasquez. 

They’d only been gone for what seemed five minutes and now they were back, although looking very much worse for wear. Exhausted, spent, haggard. Looking like they’d lived lifetimes. Their clothes slightly dingy and worn. Their hair ruffled. Their faces wan. Shoulders slumped. Well, why wouldn’t they look this way? They just performed over a dozen lifesaving missions, time traveling between each one.. It was tiring. On all levels.

Lena and Alex ushered J’onn and Vasquez to the door. They confirmed a meeting time for the next day and left. Lillian might have been stopped from her murder spree, but she would eventually come back to the present and realize she was thwarted. And then what? Plus, she still had the time machine. So there was still a threat. To earth. To aliens. The prevention of loss of life was always priority one, so the rescue mission had to be done. And now, they all needed to rest and restore in order to prepare for whatever happened next.

After they left, Lena closed the door behind them and typed in the security code. Alex, being a trained DEO operative, watched and instantly memorized this code. Habit. Training. And as she realized what she’d done, a shiver went through her entire body. This information integrated within her, sending it to all of her selves, the selves in future timelines, the selves in past timelines. And she suddenly realized how she had been able to let herself into Lena’s apartment that fateful night. The night they’d been playing cat and mouse. The night Lena was hoping Alex would do something extraordinary and find a way to break into her penthouse which was as impenetrable as Fort Knox. Alex had talked a big game, but she didn’t have a big game plan. She simply went to Lena’s apartment with the intention of using a randomizer, which would enter in random codes at lightning speed in attempts to disarm the security system and unlock the door. 

When she arrived that night, she was surprised to find that something inside of her wanted to try to a guess at what the code might be. She was angry that night. She wanted to prove herself to herself and Lena. She was feeling ambitious and cocky and at the same time full of trepidation, as Alex knew the chance of absolute failure was high. So you can imagine her surprise when she simply put her fingers to the keypad and typed in a series of 16 numbers that instantly unlocked Lena’s apartment at the first try. 

The door to Lena’s penthouse opened. Alex quickly stepped inside. Closed the door and re-armed the alarm. Her senses were overwhelmed. She’d made it inside. Lena was on her way home. She needed to find a place to hide. Both her body and the duffel bag of toys she’d brought with her. How on earth did she just guess Lena’s secret entry code?? Alex’s mind couldn’t process. There were too many other things to do. And she would have never, ever in a million years guessed that the reason she knew the code was that a future version of herself was now a time traveler, who saw the code in the future and through the mysteries of quantum physics would transfer that bit of information through her DNA to her past self. 

Lena turned to Alex. 

Present day Lena. The Now Lena. Now looking at Alex. An Alex who had obviously had something on her mind.

“What’s wrong?” said Lena. 

Alex came back to the now. Back from that night they’d shared together. To the present. A present where they were in the middle of a mission who’s objective it was to stop Lillian Luthor from murdering her enemies, which included the entire alien race. The objective was to stop a Luthor. Lena’s mother. Adoptive. But that word didn’t mean anything less than family to Alex. For the obvious reasons. 

“Nothing,” said Alex.

It was a lie. What was on Alex’s mind was the fact that information learned in the future could somehow be transferred to a past self. It was a game changing scientific discovery. And even thought it was Alex’s brain who realized this, it was also Alex’s brain that was suddenly trying to push this little bit of fate of humanity altering information aside. Her brain sweeping it under the mind rug. Nothing to see here! Everything's Fine! Nope! Nope! I’m not responsible for this breakthrough. Break in. I broke into Lena’s apartment using a what? A who? Where? Me? What are you talking about? I’m tired. Literally no one is asking you about this Alex so drop it. It’s not a part of the mission. The mission comes first. 21 hours without sleep is the equivalent to a .08 blood alcohol content. You’re drunk, basically and you need to sleep. You can’t trust your own mind. You’re delirious.

Alex shook her head side to side, as if to rattle out all this nonsense. 

Lena sighed. It was obvious that Alex was lying. People had been lying to Lena Luthor her whole life. Friends, lovers, family, investors, employees, strangers, reporters. Who didn’t lie to Lena at some point or other? Lena took her hand and touched Alex’s check, giving it a tender caress, then walked away. She was simply too tired to give a fuck. She needed sleep. Lena started to walk to her bedroom. Alex can join me or not.

Alice put her tea down on the coffee table and stood up. Clink. Lena looked up and remembered she’d left her therapist here.

Being a host was exhausting.

Lena didn’t even walk towards Alice. Didn’t have the energy or inclination to take care of anyone other than herself. She didn't’ know it, but the interaction with Alex at the elementary school had changed her. The changes were still gelling. Lena’s systems were taxed. Maxed. Short circuiting and rewiring an entire lifetime of delicately complex and understated changes, neural networks in Lena’s brain were forming new connections, delicate internal lattices were re-weaving themselves in new ways. The amount of energy this was taking out of Lena’s body was soul draining.

“I need to sleep,” said Lena. She didn’t wait for acknowledgement or agreement. Just skulked off to her quarters. Leaving Alex and Alice to fend for themselves. Very unusual.

Alex was tired, too, yes. Time travel was exhausting. But she hadn’t been CHANGED. 

Alice and Alex just looked at each other. Alice wanted to ask what had happened. But as a therapist, this was a no no. Clients need to share their versions. Otherwise the relationship and the insights are tainted. The therapeutic nature of their interactions becomes compromised.

Alex wanted to ask Alice what Lena’s deal was. Obviously a therapist can’t reveal things like that. They just stared at each other. Helpless. And desperately wanting to connect and share.

“You know where the guest room is?” asked Alex. 

Alice nodded yes. She’d slept there before. Alex headed up to Lena’s bedroom.

\---

Lena was in the shower, scrubbing her face with intensity. Treating herself roughly. She was angry that she had to shower, had to take off her face, she’d never felt this exhausted before. Just wanted to faceplant on the bed. And yet these habits. These best practices. They ruled her life and Lena resented it. The shower was waking up her body as her mind was hitting overload and wanting to shut down and sleep. Lena was literally at odds with herself. She was scrubbing hard. It wasn’t healthy or right or caring. She was cleaning herself and punishing herself. She simply didn’t know what to do. So she was doing everything at once.

Alex entered the bedroom and heard the shower. Do I join her? Do I wait? Maybe she needs space? Maybe she needs attention? Alex’s mind was doing a head trip - just like it had that night. The night of the breakin. Alex couldn’t get it out of her mind. But instead of focusing on the fact that she’d hit upon a monumental scientific discovery, her mind remembered everything else about that night. Being on the bed. The lipstick on the wall. The toys. The underwear drawer. 

The drawer was calling to Alex like a magnet. She walked over to it. Opened it. There they were. Pieces of designer lingerie, dozens of them. Alex picked one up. A la perla panty. And on the back of it, embroidered in silk was a capital L. Alex didn’t remember anything with custom embroidery. Not with Lena’s initial on it. I would have remembered that. I would have thought that was very fucking egocentric. Alex rifled through the panties in the drawer, at least five or six had a custom L on it. All in the same script. Maybe the housekeeper did the laundry while we were away and put these in with the others after she cleaned up that night? That has to be it. The shower turned off and Alex was distracted by that fact.

Alex went into the bathroom. Lena was toweling off. Alex shuddered at Lena’s beauty. Her creamy pale skin against the emerald green towels embroidered with L’s on them. Now WAIT ONE DAMN MINUTE. Those towels weren’t here before. They weren’t. I would have noticed. 

Alex was staring at Lena. At the towel running over her body. Alex looked confused and hungry. Her mind on hyper alert. Lena mistook this for sexual desire. She started toweling off in a sexually provocative way. Pushing the towel down her front, over her breasts, openly caressing her breasts, then pushing the towel down her front, her breasts and nipples exposed as the towel dried her belly. Lena kept her eyes on Alex the entire time. Alex’s brain stopped thinking about monogrammed towels. Like, it was suddenly the furthest thing from Alex’s mind.

Lena revelled in this type of power. It gave her energy. It gave her esteem. It was like a hit of cocaine. She’d never felt this way before. And yet it was a feeling that felt like something she’d felt nearly all her life. The old Lena and this new Lena were beginning to integrate. The old Lena, the one you’d been reading about all this time, she had power issues and self esteem issues and intimacy issues. But the Lena Alex had helped mold outside the school, that Lena was still in her timeline, was growing up knowing that life was scam and a sham, full of danger and untrustworthy adults. Sure Lena had known that. In her own way. But no one had ever come right out and said that to her face. There’s a difference between suspecting something and hearing it declared as fact. That Lena was still out there, operating in her timeline. She was more harsh. More isolated. She took power and conquest to a new level. And it was affecting this Lena in the here and now.

“Get in the shower and wash up,” commanded Lena. Alex had never heard that tone of voice come from Lena before. It was darker. More lush. More assured and powerful. More threatening. Sexier. Detached. And very, very invested in being obeyed. 

Lena cocked an eyebrow. Hung up her towel. Stood there completely naked, cocked an eyebrow and waited for compliance.

Alex stripped down and entered the shower. Her body on autopilot. 

Total obedience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut next time, bitches.


	30. Chapter 30

Alex stripped down and entered the shower.  Her body on autopilot. 

Total obedience.  

Lena’s new voice, and it’s deep, resonant tone had an instantaneous, hypnotic effect on the auburn haired agent.  Eliciting a behavioral response of agreement and assent that seemed so familiar. So natural. As if she’d followed these types of commands countless times before.

She hadn’t of course.  But another Alex on another timeline had.  Reader, did you know that there are so many other versions of you?  Living completely different lives? Some eerily similar to the one you are living right now.  These other yous - some are kind, some are dangerous. Some are falling in love right now. Others have just learning and reeling over that same love’s death.  Those strange feelings that come over you? In the middle of the day, out of the blue? Washing over you from the inside? That’s your connection to your other lives.  Your mind will want to deny this. Handling the responsibility of multiple selves is too much to ask of human consciousness, so the human mind denies, decrees that it can not be so.  And you carry on, limiting yourselves to the reality your five senses can detect.

Alex and Lena no longer had that luxury.  They had come face to face with their other selves.  Their five senses saw their other selves. As soon as they saw and smelled and heard and knew the truth, the connections to their other selves through their other senses - the sixth, seventh and eighth senses, came online.  Unlocked. Strengthened. Information from these other lives were flooding into them. Readers, reality is not what you can see. It is much more like hologram where profound internal and external changes can occur in an instant.  Lucky for you, that type of thing doesn’t happen very often. Sadly, the same can not be said for Lena and Alex.

As Alex entered the shower, herbrain became quite like a pinball machine.  Her train of thought, usually running steady and level, along parallel lines ever forward was now a round steel ball, zipping around inside her brain pan, which was now slanted, sloped, tilting away from her.   One single thought. A question really. “What is happening?” Crashing against Alex’s neural networks, lighting them up, then ricocheting rapid fire in a randomized sequence of stimulation overload. Never stopping, never landing. Here, there, everywhere, and nowhere. No answers. Only actions.

Alex stepped into the shower as she was told.  Autopilot. Muscle memory. Turned on the water. Hotter than was comfortable. Something inside told her to.  Pumped shower gel into her hands. Created a thick lather in her hands, then turned and looked straight at Lena, who sat watching with a look that was equal parts smug, entitled and pleased.  Alex kept eye contact as she started lathering her body exactly as she’d been told. In another life. 

Lena’s nostrils flared as she saw Alex lather her clavicle, her breasts, her belly, her bush.  All while looking straight into Lena’s eyes. The feeling of ultimate power washed over her. Alex couldn’t be more naked, couldn’t be more vulnerable, couldn’t be more controlled.  She was doing absolutely what Lena would have wanted her to do - without Lena saying one single word. It was like magic. What was causing Alex to act this way? How did she know what Lena wanted?  And the look in Alex’s eyes - desperate to please, confused, exposed. It was so intoxicating. Seeing Alex break through mental and emotional barriers, past her comfort level, and so very eager to please, so very needing of praise.  From Lena.

While Alex’s brain tried to figure things out - her muscles worked in perfect unison.  Choreography of the most natural sort. Like reaching for your toothbrush in the morning.  No need to tell your hand what to do or why. It just knows. So it does. As Alex soaped herself, explicitly for Lena’s pleasure, specifically per Lena’s instructions, sliding her fingers deep along her folds, Alex’s mouth opened ever so slightly as did her legs.  Lena watched as Alex swallowed hard. As Alex’s eyes widened like saucers. Desperate to see in Lena’s face whether what she was doing was “good.”

Lena slowly nodded.  The kind of nod that said “yes my pet, very nice, keep going.”

A surge of excitement flooded Alex on the inside.  The hot water blasting on her skin felt even hotter, painful, yet coupled with this new flood of adrenaline and dopamine from Lena’s approval and desire, turned the pain into pleasure. 

This erotic washing continued.  And when it was time for Alex to wash her back, her rear, she turned them towards Lena, offering full view, often craning her neck around, contorting herself to watch Lena watching.  To maintain the eye contact as much as possible. Lena kept her face neutral but inside a part of her was wondering how Alex suddenly became so spectacularly, specifically submissive!  

Lena’s head wasn’t a pinball machine fluttering without answers to questions.  Her mind gave her answers instantly. Like a ticker-tape machine. Lena pulled at the tape and read.  “Because you’re Lena Luthor, that’s why.” This made perfect sense to her. That women would submit to her.  That they would please her. That they would do absolutely anything she wanted. For that had been the case ever since high school.  (For the other Lena Luthor. The one Alex had a hand in created. Reader, I know it goes without saying -- but pun very much intended.)

Let’s go back to that other Lena.  The young Lena that Alex met while time traveling.  The one who Alex instructed that “this is a brutal world.  Far more brutal than you even know.” The one who taught Lena to use her brilliance to seize and wield power.

You remember that day, Reader.  The day Lena was the in the shower.  How Roulette showed up, camera in hand, ready to catch Lena unawares and take the pictures that Lena refused to give?  Lena had been quick to protect herself, wrapping herself in the shower curtain and swatting away the camera, which fell to the ground and broke, thwarting Roulette’s plan and getting her into deep trouble with her father for destroying one of his prized possessions.

Well Reader, that’s not exactly how things went after Alex’s chat with Lena outside the school. Lena was no longer content with staying in her lane and honing her brilliance.  Her awareness expanded, she took in a lot more interest in the outside world and people in general. She heard someone enter the bathroom. She leaned to the side, and saw through the slight slit between the shower curtain and the tiled wall that it was Roulette with her camera.

When Roulette yanked the curtain aside, in one swift motion, Lena moved to the side with the curtain, and during the moments when Roulette stared into what seemed to be an empty shower, Lena kept moving, stepping around the curtain, outside the shower, grabbing the camera with one hand and shoving Roulette into the shower with her other.  The jujitsu that she’d insisted on taking for the past five years had made her nimble, stealthy, strong. Lena’s face smiled as she watched Roulette get doused with water. Roulette’s eyes widening like saucers. Vulnerable. Surprised. Looking at Lena. Making eye contact. Eyes wide with surprise, betrayal, a how-could-you type look. A shower kink was born.

Roulette was indignant, unaware at how much this was just desserts and a well earned reversal, a sudden checkmate by Lena, the master chess player who always, always saw several moves ahead.  Roulette tried to step out of the shower, she was getting soaked right through her pajamas. Lena saw Roulette’s soaking wet cotton pajamas hang off Roulette’s the suddenly hard nubs of her nipples.  Without thinking, Lena stiff-armed Roulette back inside. Stepping in with her, holding the camera just outside the shower, keeping it dry. Roulette was angry and confused. Lena found it intoxicating.

“Fancy meeting you here,” said Lena.  Roulette watched Lena’s eyes roam up and down her wet pajamas.  The look in Lena’s eyes was something Roulette had never seen before.  Not on Lena or anyone else. Before Roulette could speak, Lena turned the water off and brought the camera inside.  

“What are you doing??” said Roulette.  Truly confused. She was too young to know that she was also aroused.  It was a first for the both of them. Lena had instantly calculated that if Roulette was comfortable taking nude shower pics, then its only logical that she should be more than happy to pose for some.  What’s good for the goose and all that claptrap.

Lena had already decided on what the outcome of this would be.  She would get everything she wanted. Now THAT look, Roulette had seen before.  And to be the thing that Lena wanted? To have Lena Luthor’s singular focus on you, Roulette gulped hard.

“We’re going to take some pictures,” said Lena.  It wasn’t a question. Lena’s hand took Roulette’s hair, slightly matted from the water, and drew it tenderly behind Roulette’s ear.  Roulette had never been touched so tenderly. A shiver went down her body as heat traveled up. Roulette didn’t say another word as Lena guided her to the corner of the shower, lifted the camera and started snapping away.  Unbuttoning Roulette’s pajamas bit by bit, more photos, a deep vee all the way down to Roulette’s belly button, instructing Roulette to put her hands behind her back.

“Keep them there,” said Lena.  Roulette did as instructed. Lena pushed the pajama top aside, exposing one then both nipples.  Taking snapshots every step of the way. A documentary of an impromput shower strip tease. Both knowing that anyone at any time could enter the communal bathroom area and realize that two girls were in the same shower stall, wet and naked with a camera.  The thought of discovery and the need to be so very quiet made for a supercharged atmosphere. The clicking of the camera shutter, the slight echo from the tiled shower stall, created an ASMR effect that went straight through them, creating a dull tingle deep inside and all the way to their clits.  Eventually all the clothes came off. And Lena wasn’t nearly satisfied. She made Roulette touch herself. Finger herself, slowly at first, Roulette slid to the floor, on her back, Lena standing over her completely naked, looking down through the camera, Roulette didn’t need further instruction. She fingered herself, both hands, going deep inside with the fingers on one hand while circling her soaking wet clit with her other fingers - and in doing so realized her own type of heady power trip - that of being watched.  Using her newfound agency to take things further, defying expectations in a dazzling display of wanton exhibitionism, this discovery of the power in shock value and sex was, for Roulette, a type of homecoming. It would be a part of her sexuality for ever more.

Reader, you won’t find it surprising to find that Roulette went on to star in a few adult films under a pseudonym that I swore I would never reveal.  They are no longer available, as she spent a significant portion of her underground alien fight club to locate and purchase all remaining copies, which she didn’t destroy.  They are currently in a safe deposit box of in the Nation’s Bank branch located in downtown National City of all places. More on those tapes later in our story.

Just like before, Lena and Roulette stopped speaking after this incident.  And everyone at school thought they’d become enemies. Or rivals. And in the previous life, that was the case.  No so here. In this lifetime, they continued to meet. Late at night. In the shower, experimenting. When everyone else was asleep.  Roulette eager to see if there was something Lena would dream up that finally be too much for either of them. There wasn’t. After high school graduation, Roulette assumed they would find a new place, a new venue for their fun.  Lena never looked back. And Roulette was left feeling deeply unresolved, abandoned. Of course, the only solution was to create her own secret club, a club of illicit and illegal voyeuristic desires. A club where she was in charge, where she controlled the action and the participants, where she decided who could “come” and what they would see.  And for how much. Lena had no idea she was the reason for this underground fight club. It was the perfect reason to contact Lena. Every fight, a new invitation. Lena never responded. One of the most brilliant aspects of Lena’s mind was its ability to move on, how and when. Lena’s no gambler. She’s a scientist through and through. And a scientist needs to know when to modify...or abandon...the experiment.

\---

Lena was so tickled.  Watching Alex in the shower.  The glass doors fogging up. Lena raised a finger.  Pointed it at the doors and made a corkscrew motion.  Alex spread her palm on the door and wiped the steam away, clearing them for Lena’s view.  The two of them shared a smile. Comfortable. Relaxed. Both getting exactly what they wanted.  They felt a shared closeness, a bond, from lifetimes together. It was like a love at first sight moment.  A recognition. A comfort. It made no sense since they had seen each other hundreds of times before. And if you count the other lives - thousands.

By the time they made it to the bedroom, they were glued to each other’s lips.  Lena had Alex wrapped tight in a towel. Lena’s hand tight around the front knot, pushing Alex backwards, guiding her towards the bed, until Alex landed on it flat on her ass.  Alex’s mind and muscles were hot and pliable. Ready and willing. Looking up at Lena waiting to do anything asked of her. Lena licked her lips. Alex’s breath hitched as she opened her mouth, offering herself up totally.  Lena leaned down over Alex and gave a long, lingering kiss that demonstrated total ownership over her pet. She could feel Alex was more open than ever.

It gave Lena an idea.  An idea for something a little more kinky than their usual fare.  The idea of fluffy pink handcuffs entered her mind. Alex in them, spread eagle, unable to escape.  Lena’s eyes looked wild. There was nothing in that moment she wanted more than to take Alex to a new level, a new place.  Physically. Emotionally.

That’s when she realized.  The pink handcuffs were under the bed in the treasure box.

Alex watched the myriad of thoughts race across Lena’s eyes.  Both the wanting. And the unexpected discovery. Lena left Alex there and went under the bed.  There was a treasure box there. Lena found it and slid it out. Excited that she remembered it was there.  She opened it and saw the handcuffs. Pink and fluffy. Just like she’d imagined. Just like she’d remembered.  Plus a variety of other toys.

Alex saw the box and the pinball in her head stopped hitting the bumpers and paddles and instead lazily spun its way down the middle lane and sinking down into the hole between the paddles.  Game over.

“Lena - where the hell did that come from?”  asked Alex. Suddenly very aware of exactly where and who they were.

“From under the bed,” replied Lena, thinking the heat must have gotten to Alex.  Lena was feeling very frisky. She took the handcuffs and spun them on her finger and raised her eyebrows a few times.  Letting Alex know exactly the type of fun that was in store. 

Alex looked like a DEO agent in a towel.  Alex had been under Lena’s bed. She’d hidden there for hours on the night she’d broken in, waiting for her prey.  

There was no “sex box” under Lena’s bed.

“Lena - that box wasn’t under your bed,” said Alex.  No longer looking or sounding like Lena’s pet. 

“Alex, you just saw me get it,” said Lena.  Confused, slightly annoyed. And definitely wanting to get back on track.

“Lena, I don’t know how to tell you this,” said Alex.  “I think you just pulled that box from a different dimension.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments get chapters. I don't make the rules. Wait. Actually, I do!


	31. Chapter 31

“Lena, I don’t know how to tell you this,” said Alex.  “I think you just pulled that box from a different dimension.”

\---  
Lena looked confused.  

It wasn’t a look Alex had ever seen.   Lena Luthor wasn’t often in a state of confusion.  Unflappable calm. Concentration. Control. Those were Lena’s daytime looks.  Frustration, calculation, desire, conquest. Those were for night. Confusion? Lena didn’t know her.  But here she was, anyway.

How did confusion get into Lena’s bedroom?  The words Alex said weren’t foreign. 

“Lena”.  That was her. 

“I”.  That was Alex.  

“Don’t.”  A contraction, a short-hand for Do Not.  The lack of ability to make happen. 

“Know.”  To understand / conceive through observation, or information.  

You get the idea.  

Lena furrowed her brow and scrunched her nose.  Quickly tested a few theories:

Maybe I bought it? 

Lena’s hand traveled to the pink handcuffs in the box.  Her fingers lightly grazing the pink fluffy fur that lined them.  Surprised at the quality. Custom. Her fingers felt the leather straps.  Hand cut. Hand stitched. Probably deerskin.

Her eye traveled to a bright red dildo.  Not just any red. Jungle Red. Specifically an exact match for her Nars Semi Matte Lipstick in Jungle Red.  Lena knew she and she alone was the only woman on the planet who would be so extra as to have a dildo custom made to match one of her favorite lipsticks.  Lena grabbed the pallus. Held it tight in her fist. It was solid. It was real. And it was hers! Clearly!

And yet - Lena had no recollection whatsoever of buying it.

That made sense.  Lena didn’t do online shopping.  And she didn’t visit a sex shop. One paparazzi photo of Lena Luthor in an adult pleasure store would be all it took to drop stock prices by several points, drop the public’s trust, send investors fleeing for the hills, make the L Corp brand the laughing stock in the tech field.  Lena didn’t buy the toys. 

Maybe it was Jess?

Asking her young, visually appealing and stylish executive assistant to purchase a variety of sex toys dildos, seemed like something Lena would remember.  Lena crossed Jess off the list.

That’s when Lena realized.  

Of course!  Alex put it there!

Alex had accessed Lena’s bedroom before.   Had secreted herself. Had familiarized herself with Lena’s desires and proclivities.  Alex had even had a special relationship with Lena’s lipsticks. Lena recalled Alex using it to mark orgasms on Lena’s wall.  It was all so obvious now. This delicious box of toys was a gift. For the two of them to use. And for Alex to play a little mind game with Lena as to where it came - a game designed to rattle her, shake her off balance before the real games begin - Lena loved it.  

Lena cracked a smile and cocked her eyebrow.  Looked up at Alex with a delicious, sinful expression.  Ready to reward her lover. Lena wasn’t often surprised.  And now Alex had done it twice. 

Alex sat on the bed, wrapped in towel, with a lump in her throat and a pit in her stomach.  Lena quickly realized. This wasn’t a fun sex game. 

Oh.  It wasn’t Alex.

Inside Lena’s mind, a hand corrected an internal scoreboard.  Alex had surprised her only once.

Lena went into action mode.  There was only one way to know if there was a wormhole under her bed.  She swiped the box aside, lifted the sheets, took a deep breath and stuck her arm under the bed, half expecting to see it disappear into a different dimension.  

It didn’t.  It just waved back and forth like anyone’s arm would do.  

Hmmm.  She swept her arm side to side, hoping to expose the wormhole that way.  Nothing. Jammed her arm forward at various angles. Nope.

Lena closed the box and gave it a hard shove under the bed, hoping to send it deep into a wormhole.  That didn’t happen either. It just slid along the floor until it was out of reach.

With all initial experiments having failed, Lena sat on the floor, leaning back on her hands, stumped.  

Reader, you would have enjoyed this look on Lena.  You would have Gif’d it. Posted it on tumblr. Tagged.  Trended. Meme’d. Why? Because for the first time in this entire tale, Lena Luthor wasn’t one step ahead, wasn’t holding all the cards, wasn’t figuring out the answer.  Lena Luthor didn’t even know the question. 

Luckily, Alex did.  

I believe I mentioned that part of Alex’s DEO training included an intensive mini seminar on the Luthor family.  DEO agents often studied profiles of prominent people: world leaders, CEOs, activists, scientists. As Alex looked at Lena, sitting on the floor.  Visibly overwhelmed, tired and lost -- Alex thought of Lillian. How she injected liquid Kryptonite into the veins of John Corben, turning him into a mutant to do her bidding.  How Lillian imprisoned Supergirl in her secret Cadmus base in order to drain her solar energy. How Lillian releases the Medusa virus into the atmosphere to wipe out all alien life.  As the old saying goes, “If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother.” Lena Luthor’s mother problems. That was another thing entirely. Alex knew the question wasn’t “how did that box get there.”  It was “what is Lillian Luthor doing right now?”

“Babe,” said Alex.  

Lena didn’t look up.  Just stared at the box.  The thought “I have great taste” whispered in Lena’s brain.

“I have an idea,” continued Alex.

Lena’s eyes shot up.  The rest of her body didn’t move one single millimeter.  The amount of physical and psychological control that Lena had over herself could be quite unnerving.  Alex gulped. 

“What if I just took a quick sec to pop out and…” Alex tried to continue.  

Suddenly Lena was on all fours, crawling on the bed, moving towards Alex.  It wasn’t easy to get Alex off of a DEO inspired mission. Lena needed to pull out all the stops.  Before Alex knew what was happening, Lena was kneeling before Alex, hands on her face, caressing her.

“No, no, no, no, no,” said Lena.  Slightly anxious and impatient and hopeful.  

“Just a quick trip…” said Alex, with wide “I’m sorry” eyes.

Lena put her fingers against Alex’s mouth.  Drumming them against Alex’s lips.

“Shhhh…”  said Lena.

Alex kept trying to speak even though Lena’s fingers were pressed up firm against her lips.  Half garbling her words. Half kissing Lena’s fingers.

“To next week…” said Alex.

“Shh.  Shh. Shh,”  cooed Lena. Tracing her fingers along Alex’s lips.  Seeing them slightly quiver. Reacting to Lena’s touch.  Was this gambit working? Lena studied Alex.

“Just to see…”  Alex’s words became slow and labored.  Her breath low and hot. Lena could feel it on her fingertips.  Time to turn up the heat. Lena looked into Alex’s eyes as both of her hands went to the silk belt of her black kimono.  

“I’ll give you something to see,” said Lena.  She pulled both sides of the belt, the knot slipped open, the kimono draped open.   Lena on her knees. Her naked body fully exposed. Face, neck, breasts, belly, bush.  Her legs slightly spread. She’d switched roles so seamlessly. Suddenly offering every inch of herself to Alex.  Lena’s eyes saying, “take everything you want.”

Alex finished her sentence.  “...what Lillian is doing.” 

The room went ice cold.  

Lena was revolted.  Hearing her mother’s name at this very moment.  She looked at Alex sternly. Took her kimono and closed it shut like a vault.  Got off the bed, turned her back to her lover and walked away.

“I’ll be right back,” explained Alex.  Her a tone that let them both know that she was going to leave whether Lena liked it or not.

Alex couldn’t see Lena’s face.  Lillian had once again infiltrated her life, her relationships, her world.  Lillian was the ruiner of everything. Lena was incensed. Not at this moment.  At a lifetime of these moments.

Alex stood up.  Her DEO issued uniform, which was on the floor nearby.  The atmosphere in the room felt thick and uncertain.

Lena stood with her back to Alex.  Not saying anything. 

“Lena?” said Alex.  

Lena still didn’t turn around.  

“Lena??”  said Alex.

“Fucking GO!”  yelled Lena.

Alex’s eyes turned wide like saucers.  Abandonment. Rage. Disloyalty. Contempt.  It was all there in Lena’s tone. Alex stared at the tiger on Lena’s back.  Staring Alex down. 

“Lena, this is for the best.”  Alex was trying to calm Lena down.  It didn’t work. Lena turned to Alex.  Eyes wild.

“I don’t need you to tell me what’s best for me,”  said Lena.

“That’s not what I meant,” said Alex.  “I meant what’s best for us. And for Earth.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”  Lena walked to her purse, hastily yanked the time machine out and rudely tossed it at Alex.  “Go!”

Alex scrambled to catch it.  Making sure it didn’t break. Lena was off the rails with anger.

“What are you waiting for, Hero?  If this is such a great god-damn idea, then GO ALREADY.”  Lena glared at Alex, who just stood there. Eyes open. Mouth open.  Alex had NO idea what had just happened.

Lena stormed out.

Alex got dressed.

\---

A few minutes later, Alex walked downstairs into the living room, fully dressed as a uniformed DEO officer and carrying the time machine.  Lena was on the couch, stewing, holding a glass of triple malt scotch. She took an angry sip as Alex approached. Lena knew she was being childish.  Decided to preemptively cop to it rather cop to than be accused of it.

“I’m sick to death fighting my mother,” said Lena.

She wasn’t even saying this to Alex.  Lena was simply declaring it to the room.  To whoever could hear. 

Alex was about to say something.  Lena whipped her head up and shot Alex a look that said, “Whatever you are about to say, I am ready to REFUTE.”  

Alex’s mouth, which was already closed, somehow closed even more.  

Lena’s eyes narrowed in the satisfaction of winning a battle before it even began.  

Still, the green-eyed Luthor girl wasn’t satisfied.  Lena wanted to scrap. 

And Alex could see that -  since Lillian wasn’t here to battle -  Lena would just have to battle the next closest thing.  

Which was Alex.  

Alex was in a bad position.  Tactically. This type of lovers quarrel wasn’t her forte.  Maggie was always the cooler head. Always shedding light on things.  She’d had been in the closest her entire life. Never had a relationship that meant something to her.  Where emotions were at play. She was inexperienced at the delicate song and dance needed when two people are hurting at the same time.  How to help the other person without betraying your own needs. How to advance your own agenda without touching an internal bruise. 

Even with Supergirl, Alex was the superior.  The older sister who could boss around the younger one.  The one whose job it was to dispense all the Earth knowledge.  The one who needed to watch over and keep the secret of the Alien among us.  Alex was trained to keep secrets, not air them out so everyone could feel better.  

Alex sat on the couch next to Lena.  

“I need sleep!” barked Lena.  She’d gone without sleep before.  Cramming for exams. Conducting research.  Meeting deadlines for global unveiling of technological advances.  But that was nothing to the drain back to back time-travel could cause.

“I know, I know…” said Alex.

“Don’t “i know, i know” me…”  snapped Lena.

“What I meant was...” said Alex.

“I know what you meant.  You meant you want to time travel.  Again. Right after we decided that it was best to rest,” reminded Lena rather forcefully.

“I know-”  said Alex.

Upon hearing “I know” for the third time, Lena looked like she was about to erupt.  

Alex took Lena’s hands in hers and started kissing Lena’s fingers.  Just like she’d done moments earlier in the bedroom. Physical contact.  Alex leaned in close, put her forehead against Lena’s. 

“I’ll go two weeks into the future.  Take a quick peek. Just to make sure everything is okay.  I’ll come right back. Then we can really…” Alex wanted to say sleep.  But she knew that wasn’t what Lena wanted at all. Alex chose her next word carefully.  “Relax.” Implying the kind of relaxation that comes after just after orgasm and just before deep sleep.

Lena seemed slightly appeased.

“What are you waiting for?” said Lena.  Slightly curt. Clearly, still hurt.

“I don’t know how to program the time machine,” said Alex.

Lena tried not to smile.  Instead, held her hand out regally.  Alex sheepishly placed the time machine in it.  

“Where and when?” said Lena. 

\---

Alex picked two weeks into the future.  As for the location, she figured something that could give her a good view of the city would do the trick.  Ideally, she would have gone straight to the DEO command center. That was too risky. What if she ran into herself?  What if other agents spied two agent Danvers? They would have both been sent to lock up for questioning, knowing full well one was a doppelganger and not realizing they were both actually Alex.

There was the option of going to Supergirl’s apartment and asking her for a quick fly around the city.  What if she was already at Supergirl’s apartment, sitting on the couch, eating pies and ice cream? Supergirl would flip.

Alex eventually settled on her own apartment.  Which is exactly where she went.

Pop.  

In an instant she was there.  

It was strange and comforting at the same time.  Without thinking, Alex went to the fridge and looked inside.  Nearly everything was past the expiration date. Then she realized she desperately needed a change of clothes.  Quickly stripped, changed her undergarments, slipped into a clean DEO uniform, socks, checked her gun, her ammo.  Looked to see if there was any tactical gear she might need in the future. She opened her secure drawer and took an extra clip.  Wait. I’m in the future. If I need anything in the future, I can just go to the future. Put the clip back into the drawer. But what if I need it when I go back to the past?  Opened the drawer again. Looked at the clip. I mean back to the present. Closed the drawer again. Her mind was getting off track.

Dating Lena Luthor was NOT easy.

Alex turned on the TV.  Well, she tried to. The cable was out.  Just snowy dots everywhere. No channels were coming through.  Hmmm. Maybe the satellite dish on the roof was having issues. The roof!  Yes. That’s where I was heading in the first place. Alex opened the drawer.  Instead of taking the extra clip, her hand reached for her binoculars. Draped the strap around her neck, looked around, locked up and headed up the stairwell to the roof.

On the way up the stairs, she took a deep breath.  She looked forward to “relaxing” with Lena as much as Lena did.  Yes. Rest. Relaxation. That’s what we need. What we both need.  We are a we. 

The thought made Alex smile.  She looked forward to returning to Lena, reporting that all was quiet, and snuggling, kissing, touching, caressing and soothing each other after a long, tiring mission.  

Alex reached the top stair, opened the door and stepped out to the roof.  The night air was crisp. The city glittered below. Her apartment was only six stories high, but it was on a slight hill and had a great view of the lower east side of the city from the roof, which included the Fair Stalls, which was a large, outdoor atrium.  A mixed use festival marketplace of food stalls, unique local artisan shops, street musicians. Where walkers, gawkers and city dwellers could be out and in the mix. A much beloved institution. Alex chose her apartment because it was less than a mile (walking distance) from FS.

Alex got to the edge of the roof, put her binoculars to her eyes, and through the giant scopes trained her eyes to city scene below, magnifying the The Fair Stalls. 

Dozens.

 

Giant rats.

 

Dozens of them.

 

Running wild through the Fair Stalls.  

People running for their lives.  

Rat tails, thick like giant steel cables, lashed indiscriminately through wooden push carts and kiosks.  

Alex gasped.  She pointed her binoculars to another part of the city.  

Rats there, too.  Chewing through a telephone pole.  Alex gasped in horror. Couldn’t look away as the telephone pole felled.  Tearing down power lines. The transformer on top exploding like a roman candle.  Sparks filling the air. Falling into the Rat’s eye. The Rat, suddenly in pain, ran in circles.  Alex saw people hiding in a gas station. Then the lights went out. 

She pointed the binoculars straight down at the street below.  One lone rat, lumbered along. Unbothered. Unchecked. It was the size of a van.  Not including the tail.

“Oh my god,” said Alex.  Out loud. To herself. To no one.  To anyone.

Hundreds of Giant Rats were on the loose.  Terrorizing National City.


	32. Chapter 32

Alex had seen those rats before.  In the animal hospital. Now they were everywhere.  As she watched the carnage unfold in the streets below, one word ran through her brain.

Lillian.

\---

It was the same word ringing through Lena’s brain as she sat on the couch waiting for her DEO lover to return.  Lillian! The ruiner of things! Lillian! The ruiner of lives! It was always Lillian!

Lena took another sip from her drink.  And she sat there alone, in the half light of her living room, feeling sorry for herself, feeling powerless, just waiting for Alex to return, waiting to find out what Lillian was doing or had done, waiting to find out what she had to do or not do because of Lillian's actions, Lena felt small.  As small as she was when she first arrived in the Luthor home. Carrying her teddy bear, which was almost her size. In a house vaster than any building she’d ever seen. Even the people in the Luthor manse were larger than life. Lena felt her smallness there. Acutely. There seemed to be countless hallways in that home.  And ever more doors. All in the signature Tudor wood paneling. Period original. Lionel had imported all the walls, doors and even the ceilings from estates in the UK, paying top dollar. The price of which included replacing the original wood features with exact replicas. Many of the estates had this done in secret. Not wanting their neighbors knowing their fully restored period home was now a fake.  Like Lionel gave two hoots about the family history of those family homes. Lionel was building his own family home. He was creating his own family history. That’s what mattered.

And when Lena arrived, Lionel was over the moon.  He’d always wanted a girl. It was his vision ever since he was a teenager.  Daddy’s little girl. So when Lillian’s ultrasound revealed that her baby Lex was a boy, Lionel was visibly disappointed.  Although he never explicitly said so. 

\----

“Lionel, what’s wrong?”  said Lillian, hand protectively rubbing the growing bump on her belly as she walked into Lionel’s study.  She was only 20 weeks into her pregnancy. They’d been at the hospital earlier that day. 

\---

The nurse was so nervous her hands were shaking.  To be in a room, any room, with even one Luthor was beyond intimidating.  To be in a small room with two Luthors felt seismic.

Lillian was on the patient exam table, slightly reclined and with gown open so her pregnant belly was fully exposed for the nurse to perform the ultrasound.  Lionel held Lillian’s hand and he looked more excited than, well, than ever. Lillian was almost taken aback with the amount of love and hope and expectation that was pouring out of her husband’s eyes and onto her.  She tried to pretend that it was always like this, that he was always like this, always focused on her, always thrilled to be her husband, to be the father of her children. Yes, fatherhood was unlocking something within Lionel.  Now was the time their relationship would finally take form. 

Something had been lacking.  Not that Lillian would ever dare say that to anyone.  Including herself. Why ruminate on feelings? Action was what mattered.  And Lionel did pick her. He did choose her. He did marry her. Isn’t that what mattered?  And he was a unique man. With many interests, a brilliant mind, several companies. Who could possibly think they would become his sole focus.  Lillian was practical. She knew what she was getting into. They would be building an empire together. He chose her for a reason. For her laser sharp mind.  For her cunning. Her social game. Lionel was occasionally mystified by petty politics and back room glad handing and social climbing. Lillian didn’t have that kind of blind spot.  She could accurately assess a person’s social game from 10 yards aways. She thought she understood motivation. What she understood was fear. Her entire being is a precision instrument designed to detect fear.  She was just born this way. Gifted. And when you spend your entire life seeing people’s fears leak out, and they watching their life choices, their actions, the big and the small, the rejecting of a cup of coffee, the embrace of a friend, the divorce of a marriage (like her parents), Lillian’s accuracy for knowing why people were doing what they were doing and why they were lying was unparalleled.  

It’s how Lillian discovered that Kara was also Supergirl.  Kara dithering with her glasses, her huffs when someone says something that with displease Supergirl, her quick exits - perfectly timed with disasters, her disheveled look after sudden arrivals, the whiff of “phew” as if she’d just pulled off something sneaky.  Nearly everything about Kara Danvers shouts “I’m living a lie!” For there is no “Kara Danvers.” No Supergirl, either. There is only The Alien. And two aforementioned identities are The Alien’s pernicious lies. 

These lies were so pathetically obvious to Lilian.  She could see the truth in people’s faces. 

So when she looked at her husband as the nurse snapped on her latex gloves and worked the controls on the ultrasound machine, it was unmistakable to Lillian that she was seeing something in Lionel that she’d never seen before.  Not when he proposed. Not when they got married. Not when his company reached a 1B valuation. Not when he received the congressional medal of honor. Not when Lillian revealed she was pregnant. Something about today made it special.

Perhaps it was the adage old adage “seeing is believing.”  Lionel and Lillian both knew that pregnancies can go south in the early stages.  Maybe he’d been holding back his feelings. Fearing the worst while hoping for the best.  If that was the case, his fears were now gone. Pure exhilaration and anticipation was all Lillian could see.  

She tried to talk herself into taking that in.  Finally, her husband had the love for her that she’d always wanted.  Finally, the last piece of the puzzle was in place. And baby makes three.  Yes. that was it. Now they were one. A family. That’s what Lionel had needed to “get there.”  He was fully present with Lillian for the first time. She made sure to not let him know. Didn’t want to disturb the delicate balance that had been achieved.  Was worried that saying something might break the spell.

When Lionel took Lillian’s hand, she gave a thin-lipped smile in return.  Just like she always did. But on the inside, she was soaring. And it felt tenuous and dangerous and wonderful and unexpected and right.  So right. Yes. She was right to marry him. Yes. She’d seen this day coming from a mile away. That’s why it was happening. This is why they were together.  To share these feelings. Yes. Yes.

The machine was ready.  The nurse swiveled on her stool.  Positioned the monitor so father and mother could see.  Smeared the ultrasound gel on the external probe. And started gliding it across Lillian’s belly.  High frequency sound waves penetrated her abdomen, and a picture started to appear on the monitor.

“May I?”  said Lionel.  Dropping Lillian’s hand and reaching for the probe.  He didn’t grab it out of the nurses hand. Although she knew it wasn’t a question.

“I have some latex gloves for you,” said the nurse, quaking inside at disobeying a direct order from a Luthor.  At telling a Luthor what to do. But he seemed pliant. More than ready to take instruction. The nurse used her yes to point to the 100 count box of latex gloves and Lionel put a pair on.  He gingerly took the probe and the nurse used her hands over his to guide the route of the probe over Lillian’s belly. Lionel’s eyes were trained on the monitor. This was a fairly basic piece of scientific equipment to Lionel.  And yet the images that were appearing on the screen were like a miracle appearing before him. 

“What is that?” asked Lionel.

The nurse patiently guided him through understanding the blurry images.  

“That’s the baby’s head,” said the nurse.

Lionel and the nurse slowly swept the probe over a different section of Lillian’s abdomen.  

“And that?  What’s that?” asked Lionel.

“Those are his arms and shoulders,” said the nurse.

Lionel’s face changed.  The probe suddenly stopped gliding.

“Him?” said Lionel.

“Yes,” said the nurse, not knowing she’d said the wrong thing.  She continued gliding the probe in specific, sweeping paths along the swollen abdomen.  Lionel’s hand under hers went cold.

“Look here,” she said as the probe glided along a particular sweep, one that revealed the gender of the child quite clearly.  “Those are the sex organs.” Lionel and Lillian could both clearly see the small testicles, scrotum and penis.

Lillian beamed.  Looked at Lionel eager to have this moment shared.  Lionel took his hand off the probe, snapped off the gloves and threw them in the nearby garbage pail.  Lillian realized. The moment, the earlier moment, the delicate equilibrium had tipped. It was over. They were back to where they were before.  He wanted a girl. Why didn’t he say so? Lillian could have researched gender selection, could have taken measures, could have taken steps! Why didn’t he tell her!  Instead she was reclined, half naked, smeared in medical gel, helpless. 

The nurse kept sweeping the probe and monitoring the images appearing on the screen.  Oblivious to the dynamics in the room. People were so stupid, thought Lillian.

“Do you have a name picked out?”  asked the nurse. As if she had any right to ask a Luthor such personal information.  It was forward and presumptuous and so out of line and Lillian knew this type of behavior was not tolerated by her husband who would surely be issuing a devastating and firm rebuke to this, this medical worker underling.  It would be a salve for the devastation Lillian felt inside at this moment.

With his back to both of them, Lionel said , “Lex.”  Very matter of fact.

Lillian went cold.  They’d not discussed names.  Power was being stripped from her second to second.  How had everything changed? And so suddenly.

Lionel turned to Lillia. 

“I’ve got to get back to the office.  See you at home,” said Lionel. He walked to her and kissed her forehead.  Then picked up his black trench coat which was draped on a nearby chair, slung it over his arm and walked out.  

“Lex.  That’s an unusual name,” said the nurse.  

Lillian couldn’t believe she had to spend twenty more weeks carry an unwanted child.  

She vowed in that moment that she would more than make up for Lionel’s disinterest.  Lillian vowed that Lex would be the most cherished child to ever be born.

\----

Lionel didn’t come home for dinner that night.  His assistant phoned Lillian and informed her that Lionel would be arriving late.  It was 9pm when the mansion gates opened for his limousine. Lillian had taken her dinner in the upper library, which gave her a perfect view of the mansion’s driveway and gates.  It was 9pm when Lionel’s limousine arrived home. Lillian made some internal calculations. If he was having an affair then it was something long term and well established. What woman meets her lover for dinner, has sex and releases him back to his wife before 8:30 pm in order for him to be home by 9?  Someone who is already on the Luthor payroll. Someone who knows to play by his rules. Someone who doesn't need to be seduced. It’s clearly someone that already know she has to play by his rules. 

Lillian walked straight downstairs, hoping to catch Lionel on his way to the kitchen.  He loved to eat a second dinner. Usually a Reuben sandwich. The chef always had a fresh one waiting for him on the counter with a dill pickle on a white china plate and two paper towels for a napkin.  Even when Lionel had work dinners, he didn't’ eat much. A full belly meant comfort. Comfort was bad for negotiations. And he liked to look forward to his sandwich. A throwback to his roots. Lionel grew up poor.  A reuben sandwich from the local deli was something his father would take him and his brothers each New Years Day. The most special day of the year as far as Lionel was concerned. Just the boys. Lionel, his father and his uncle.  Now he could have a reuben whenever he wanted. And so he had one every single night. He didn’t care about any other sign of wealth. But the reuben. If Father could only see what he’d created. 

When Lillian arrives in the kitchen, the Reuben was on the plate, but the pickle was missing, along with a single paper towel.  She slowly walked from the kitchen down the east wing. All of the employees she passed immediately found a task that required them to turn their backs to her and avert their eyes.  Dusting a counter. Reaching for something in a cabinet. It was a dance of privacy all Luthor manse employees had to learn. It was too overwhelming, too invasive to have 20+ staff members staring at you as you moved throughout your own home.  They operated in sync. A class of untouchables who were not to speak until spoken to, who weren’t to meet their master’s gaze unless invited to do so. And so, no one said anything to Lillian as she made her way to Lionel’s office. 

He was already behind his desk, the traditional banker lamp with glass green shade lit the papers he was examining.  Lillian entered. Lionel didn’t look up.

“Lionel, what’s wrong?”  asked Lillian, instinctively rubbing her baby bump as she entered.  She walked right up to her husband’s side. Put her arm around his shoulders.  Looked down at his desk.

“Nothing,” said Lionel.  He was engrossed in a prospectus.   A financial disclosure document that detailed every investment, savings and credit account extended to a start up company that specialized in medical laser technology.  Perhaps Luthor Corp would purchase them. Lillian glanced at the figures, reading over Lionel’s shoulder.

“These are unusually robust figures for a start up,” noted Lillian.  

“Mmm?” replied Lionel who seemed interested for the first time.

“A start up by two men who are only a few years out of graduate school should be in the red.  And yet these boy geniuses-” 

Did Lillian detect a flinch in Lionel?  Upon hearing the word boy? No. Certainly not.  It was just in her head. She continued. Staying as steady as a statue.

“They’ve managed to turn a profit in under three years?  I didn’t know they were already selling product,” said Lillian.

“They’re not at market,” said Lionel.

“But they were.  Weren’t they?” said Lillian.  “Maybe just for a week. Maybe just for one shipment.  But they sold something to someone and the profits of that sale is what floated them.”

Lionel took a deep breath.  His wife knew all the angles.  He scanned for a line item which would prove to be section 15.01.7 in the document.  A mysterious 100k consulting fee paid to Axis Industries. His finger landed on the figure.  

“Axis Industries,” said Lionel.  “Who on God’s green Earth?” He wasn’t about to buy a company who already shared their proprietary information with a competitor.  Lionel was in work mode. Just what Lillian was hoping for.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, darling” said Lillian.  She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. Taking her time so she could smell whatever scent his mistress left behind.

It was unmistakable.  The lingering scent of the perfume worn by his mistress was lingering on the skin of his neck and the sweat on the inside of his shirt collar.  A floral scent. 

Plumerias.

\----

 

 

Sitting alone in her apartment, Lena marveled at her fate.  Once again at war with her mother. She took another sip of her drink and stared at the vase on her coffee table.  Filled with plumerias.

She reached for one.  Pulled it out. Stared at it.  Twirled it in her fingers. 

Like a mini pinwheel.  But instead of the wind blowing the wheel, Lena manipulated the stem, turning the entire thing on its axis.  Observing it from all angels. Like she did with everything.  
She debated about playing a game of “She loves me not.”  Did Alex love her? Or did Alex love the excitement of chasing the notorious Lillian Luthor?  Lena didn’t pluck any petals. The plumeria had only five leaves per stem. The outcome of the game was already known.  An odd number of petals always ended with “She loves me.” Lena put the flower back. Plumerias were good for remembering her mother.  They were bad for the art of divination.

What else was there to do but drink?  Lena raised the glass to her lips and downed the rest in one gulp.

That’s when Alice stepped forward.

She’d been watching from the kitchen.  Silently. Wasn’t sure how or when to reveal her presence.  Lena’s drinking went from sips to glups and Alice acted on instinct. 

“Lena,” said Alice.  Almost marching into the living room.

Lena was too tired to care that her therapist was suddenly on the scene.  That her therapist had been watching her from the dark. That her therapist was in her house.  In her pajamas. Sleeping in her spare bedroom. Lena sighed as Alice took the seat next to her.

Alice explained.  She couldn’t sleep, so she got up to get some milk.  She’d heard Alex and Lena’s plan. Saw Lena set the time machine.  Watched as Alex disappeared to two weeks into the future. 

Lena’s eyes banged hard to the left.  Really looking at Alice. 

Alice tried to read the emotion on Lena’s face?  Relief? Annoyance? Camaraderie? Caution? She’d never seen Lena like this.

Lena started talking.  Freely. Unlike any time before.  Talking about being abandoned by Alex.  Talking about her mother’s penchant for sowing the seeds of chaos in the name of righteousness.  Alice didn’t say a word. Lena was on a tear. And at the end of discussing the world, her life, and their intertwined fates, Lena concluded with, “And worst of all - none of it matters.”

Alice was about to finally say something, when Lena suddenly added one more thought.  

“Or maybe best of all.”  

“Why do you say that?” asked Alice.

“If nothing matters,” said Lena, as if she was explaining the obvious, “then I am free.  Free to do whatever I want.” Lena reached for the bottle of scotch and poured herself another three fingers.  Lena reached for the glass. Alice reached for Lena. 

Alice’s hand on Lena’s hand.  There was a type of electricity.  This type of touch, any type of touch, between a therapist and client was forbidden.

Lena’s eyes darted to Alice’s hand.  Alice was trying to prevent Lena from raising the glass again.

Neither of them looked at each other.  Alice didn’t remove her hand. The room was charged.  Alice held her breath. Lena turned and looked at Alice.

“I’m of legal drinking age,” said Lena.  Lena’s eyes said something entirely different.

“Do you want to talk about your feelings?  Or do you want to drink them?” 

Lena didn’t reply.  She kept staring at Alice.  A defiant client. A client who was choosing her words so carefully that none came out.

So much time had passed, Alice slowly raised her hand off Lena’s.

“You don’t want to be drunk when Alex returns, do you?” asked Alice.

Lena looked at her therapist.  She was wearing a pair of pajamas that were specially designed for guests at the Luthor mansion.  A long sleeve, end on end set with green piping and a L monogrammed on the cuffs. There were about ten pairs in Lena’s house.  This was the first time they’d ever been used. 

“I won’t be,” said Lena.  Using the similar matter of fact tone that her father so often took.

“Won’t be…what?” asked Alice.

“Drunk,” explained Lena.  Alice didn’t understand.

Lena could see the confusion in Alice.  And Lena liked it. Why should I be the only one twisted up inside?  Lena leaned forward. Leaned in close to Alice as she both realized and explained the situation they suddenly found themselves in.  

“Alex is coming back at exactly 1:07am.  It’s currently 1:23am. I didn’t start seriously drinking until at least 1:10am,” said Lena.

Alice’s mind spun.  Lena watched. She started to feel power.  And as she spoke, she increased in power as the meaning of her words filled the atmosphere.

“We are living in a timeline that will be erased.  We will be going back in time. Going back to 1:07am.  Truly, nothing we do right now matters.” Lena’s green eyes practically glowed.

“Everything matters,” said Alice.  Afraid. Lena looked more Luthor than ever.  Science and madness and mortality meeting in the middle of a Venn diagram.

Lena took Alice’s hand in hers.  The intent was clear.

“Lena, don’t,” said Alice.

“Don’t what?” said Lena.  Knowing perfectly well what Alice meant.  Trying to make Alice say it. Another form on control.  Lena’s eyes went to the pajamas Alice was in. Her other hand went to the shirt cuff, and touched the monogrammed L.  Alice was suddenly so aware. That absolutely everything she was doing was inappropriate. She was at her client’s home.  Past one in the morning. Almost no lights on. Wearing night clothes. Alice squirmed and could feel that she wasn’t wearing any underwear and could feel the couch upholstery  against her pussy lips through the thin fabric of the pj bottoms. Alice looked up, helpless. Lost. What on earth was she doing? 

Suddenly, Lena’s hand was on Alice’s face.  Suddenly Lena’s lips were on Alice’s lips. A tender kiss.  A seductive kiss. Full and sensual and unexpected and-

“Lena, don’t” said Alice, her tone was a plea.  

Lena didn’t stop.  She grabbed Alice’s face with both hands and pulled her in.  Kissing her with so much focused intensity. Her thick full lips tasting Alice’s.  

Alice broke away.  She pushed herself back.

“This is wrong,” said Alice.

“I won’t tell,” said Lena, inching forward on the couch.  “I won’t even remember this. And neither will you.”

Lena was crawling on top of Alice.  Alice was falling back. Suddenly laying all the way down on the couch.  Feeling Lena on top of her. Lena’s belly and breasts and breath. Alice underneath her, feeling that delicious feeling of when no escape meets absolute abandon and total surrender.

Alice wasn’t sure what happened.  But suddenly her arms and legs were wrapped around Lena Luthor.  They were deep kissing. 

And Alice was getting very, very wet.


	33. Chapter 33

Lena hadn’t kissed anyone else since Rivals, Book One Chapter Two.  Ooops. I meant since that fateful night in her office, when Agent Alex Danvers sought an audience with the L Corp CEO without an appointment.

As Lena’s lips dragged across the open, gasping, wanting mouth of her therapist, the words Alex Danvers first said that night inexplicably came to mind.

“You can tell me where you were last night, who you were with and what you were doing.”

Lena shuddered.  The memory came from out of the blue.  Yet was crystal clear. The accusatory tone.  The anger. Alex was on the war path that night.  And Lena was the enemy. Alex arrived knowing that Lena had done something wrong.  And she had. She’d been playing all sorts to kinky games with Supergirl. Marking her with a crop.  Putting her on her knees. Asserting the fact that a Super should kneel before a Luthor. All in the name of science.  That’s what they were doing that night, wasn’t it? 

Suddenly, Lena wasn’t sure.  Why was this memory coming up?  Why here? Why now? 

Lena’s mind raced.  With guilt and problem solving.  And since she’d been changed by events in her past, she was just a little bit more intoxicated with personal power and freedom.  A furious debate began in her mind. 

An attempt to understand her actions.  An attempt to justifying her actions. In the blink of an eye, an internal drama took place inside Lena, as if the various parts of her mind tried to work out the answer.

\---

Somewhere deep inside Lena’s psyche, a door opened.  Revealing another version of Lena, who was wearing a black pencil skirt, a crisp white button up shirt, tasteful place heels with a ponytail.  Her standard outfit while working in the lab. The kind of attire needed when data needed to be collected with the utmost scientific precision.  This Lena was holding a clipboard and as soon as the door opened. Her eyes went down to the clipboard and began reading facts from it. Her voice had a somewhat desperate tone to it.  She was hoping to both remind and convince the rest of her that she was good. 

“I was developing a synthetic kryptonite in order to find an antidote.  I was working with Supergirl to help her and the planet!”

Another version of Lena arrived at the door - his one was much more droll.  She looked at the do-gooder version of Lena and asked, “Oh, so the Kryptonite you’d developed - the Kryptonite that is the only thing that can kill a Super - you’d made that to help them??”  Her tone was dripping with sarcasm and contempt. We always reserve the strongest criticisms for ourself.  
The do-gooder Lena dug her heels in.  “Yes! The only way to make an antidote is to understand the substance you are trying to reverse engineer!”  

Droll Lena was wearing the same outfit she was in the night Supergirl flew to Lena’s balcony without an invitation and announced that Lillian, Lena’s mother, was the leader of Cadmus:    snakeskin print dress, hair up and away from her face in bun, Manolos with blood red bottoms. Lena was furious that night. Another unannounced visit. Another accusation that anyone with the Luthor name was anti-alien.  This droll Lena was holding inside a silent fury. Her arms wrapped around her front as she strutted in front of this white shirted, faux-white knight Lena.

“And I bet she believed that, didn’t she?  You can be soooo convincing can’t you?” She accused herself.

“I was convincing because it was the truth!”  she said back to herself.

Droll, snake-skinned Lena chuckled, as if she didn’t believe herself.  Not one bit. “So why a crop?” asked droll Lena. Do-gooder Lena wasn’t expecting this.  Droll Lena realized she’d found a weakness and immediately capitalized. Stalking ever closer, getting right up into do-gooder Lena’s face.  

“Why was she on her knees?”  

Do-gooder Lena controlled the impulse to gulp.  She looked down at the clipboard. Desperately searching for an answer.  She didn’t find one. Looked up sheepishly. A concession.

Droll Lena cocked an eyebrow.  Looked herself in the eye and declared, “Lex wanted to destroy the Supers.  But that’s not you. No, no, no. You know that it’s much, MUCH more powerful to have them submit.  And what’s the ultimate submission?” Droll Lena paused. Do-gooder Lena didn’t want to hear the answer.  It came anyway.

“Sex.”

The do-gooder Lena blushed.  The door slammed shut.

\---

Lena was brought back to the present.  Not because this internal debate had come to any productive conclusion, but because Lena was suddenly aware of her therapist’s naked body beneath her.

Well, nearly naked.

Lena’s kimono started spilling open as soon as she climbed atop of Alice.  The loose knotted belt slipping open under friction. The front panels were rapidly drifting further apart, revealing the pale length of Lena’s torso.  Obviously, Lena wasn’t wearing anything underneath. And her bare legs and hips pushed against Alice’s body.

As for Alice, clad in the signature Luthor pajamas.  A structured look crafted out of the softest cotton. Designed so the wearer would look poised, prepped and ready to attend or conduct a 3AM business meeting, if that happened to happen.  These fabrics rubbed against both women, tugging and pulling at their most sensitive places. Pressed against each other, their skins felt silky and creamed.

And without anything underneath - this first kiss felt much, MUCH more than that.  

First of all --- Alice was not only returning her kiss... but was doing so with such sensuality.   Alice kissed not in a dominant way. Not in a submissive way. And yet, there was a message being relayed in Alice’s kiss.  An instruction and a reassurance. Alice’s kiss said, “It’s okay. Please. More.” 

A warmth went through Lena’s body as this message was transmitted through the exact right amount of softness in Alice’s soft lips, the exact right amount of exhale into Lena’s mouth, the exact right amount of room - less than a millimeter - of Alice pulling back from Lena, just enough room that let Lena know “take more.  I want you to. Please.”

Second of all --- first kisses usually happen with several barriers in place.  Emotional, psychic, material. But here, none of that existed. The material barriers of coats, jackets, sweaters, shirts and bras were all gone.  The emotional layers didn’t exist either. They’d not only spend hours of therapy together, they’d left the barrier of the hotel suite which was to be their office for the hour.  They’d also left the barrier of the confines of reality. Entering different timelines. Lena’s past. Lena’s childhood home. Lena’s bed.

Yes, Alice was sleeping in the guest bedroom.  But it was Lena’s penthouse. Lena owned it and everything in it.  Even though Lena had never slept in that bed, technically it was hers.  The point is - all the usual things that were in a first kiss didn’t exist here.  This kiss didn’t feel like a first kiss. It didn’t feel like anything Lena had felt before.  

Ever.

It threw Lena off.  She was expecting to push limits and break boundaries.  She wasn’t expecting the boundaries she’d been breaking through were ones deep inside herself.  Rules and restrictions about giving and receiving care. Lena didn’t realize they were even there, much less how they go there in the first place.  Each boundary was being discovered by the simple fact it was being trespassed upon.

Alice was kissing Lena back with care.  Not to be caring person. And not to care for Lena.  Something about Alice was naturally caring. Something about her was safe.  It wasn’t something being done. It was a quality inherent in Alice. Her whole body radiated “Touch me.  Yes. It’s okay. We can do this together.” 

Lena gulped.  She didn’t know how to react.  

\---

The door of Lena’s  mind kicked open again.  The droll Lena, the one who thought she knew everything (but really didn’t) stepped out, slamming the door shut on the do-gooder, leaving that  the starry-eyed simp, locked away as the snake-skinned scientist Lena strode powerfully along the hallways of Lena’s mind. 

“What else is there in this world but power??” announced droll Lena.  Shouting from deep within Lena’s subconscious to anyone who could hear.  Which presumably was Lena herself. “All we can do is make choices and ACT.  Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Isn’t that what Father used to say?”

It was.  Lionel taught that lesson to Lena early.   Do what you wish. Deal with people’s feelings about after you take what’s yours.  Don’t ever give people the opportunity to say no. Most people are too afraid to say yes.  Most people don’t understand how to grow. How to achieve. Most people are afraid. Most people aren’t Luthors.

“And what makes it yours?” asked droll Lena, looking slightly upward as she turned down another mind corridor, speaking slightly louder than normal, as if she new she had to in order to get the real Lena’s attention, her eyes looking slightly upward, knowing her intended audience was up there, somewhere at the surface.  “The fact that you can take it makes it yours. Possession is 9/10th of the law.”

Droll Lena stopped in her tracks.  Planted herself firmly in Lena’s mind.  Said loud and firm. An internal command.

“Take it.”

No one responded.  So droll Lena said it again.  This time louder.

“TAKE IT.”

\----

Lena and Alice shifted as they kissed.  Amply endowed women, their breasts were vying for room.  Both bodies shifted naturally so each could lay comfortably as their mouths continued exploring.

The distant echo of the words  “take it, take it” whispered throughout Lena.  She didn’t know why.

Soft wet tongues slowly slipped past teeth and touched.  It was breathtaking and magical and earthy. 

Lena heard it once more.

Take it.

Why was her mind being so insistent?  Everything about this kiss, this moment, seemed perfect.  The pacing. The smell. 

Was it too perfect? 

No.  That wasn’t it.

In fact, there was something very, very off.  

Not about the kiss.  

About Alice.   For part of Lena was in a panic, in confusion.  Granted, she was a master at masking such things.  Things like urgency and doubt. Things like second guessing.  Things like need. Alice seemed oblivious to all of it. And that wasn’t like Alice, at all.  

In all of their earlier interactions, Alice was able to detect even the subtlest of Lena’s emotions. Even the ones behind the mask.  Even the ones behind clasped arms. But now, half naked and pressed up close, riddled with questions, with imperatives she didn’t understand, Alice suddenly couldn’t see?  She couldn’t feel?

The sensuality of the moment, the safety, the trust - it unleashed a deep mistrust from within Lena.  A distrust of herself. And whether someone could love her like this. All this safety, was making Lena realize she didn’t feel safe.

Safety wasn’t exactly the foundation of her relationship with Alex.  They’d began as rivals. Constantly one-upping each other. Mind fucking each other.  Playing games of dominance and submission. Fighting. First each other. Then their common enemies.  

Mind racing.  Heart beating with guilt and fear.  A soul was desperate to continue exploring this feeling of safety and as her psyche told her if she didn’t take what she needed, it might be taken from her.  How could Alice not know? What Lena was thinking or feeling?

Alice was lost in the blissful unfolding.  Of wet holes opening. Of two tongue tips tenderly, generously licking.  Luxuriously exchanging tastes and textures. 

Lena realized that if Alice couldn’t detect what Lena was experiencing, then perhaps Alice was momentarily unaware of just how wrong this all was.  And what if Alice suddenly came to? Suddenly realized this should stop? That a kiss was just a kiss. They could recover from a kiss. If they stopped at only a kiss.  

No.  Lena couldn’t have that.  She needed more. And the doubt about whether or not there would be more - suddenly became intolerable.  

Lena knew she had to create destiny.  If she wanted more...

She had to take it.

Despite Alice’s physical expressions of “more please”, the deep need borne out of deep distrust - the distrust bourne from a mother who died, from a stepmother who never wanted her, from a Father who prized her above all else, who was all powerful, who the entire world feared and admired, a father who seemed invincible in all ways and who death also snatched from her, from a society who shunned her, who chased her, who needed her and hated how much they needed her, a distrust from false friends, turncoat employees, a distrust of Aliens who’d made her brother, her last remaining bit of solace gone mad, incarcerated, probably still in a rage this very moment.  All this distrust that was locked away in so many little boxes deep within Lena took over. 

Despite laying in the safety of Alice’s pillowy body and wide sturdy hips, despite the comfort of Alice’s soft, pliant lips and more than receptive mouth, despite the fact that their soft breasts were pressed against each other in perfect position and their areolas starting to swell due to the increased arousal of another deep, sensual kiss…Lena’s arms stiffened.  Raising herself off of Alice by an inch.

Before Alice knew was was happening, Lena’s hand slipped into Alice’s pajama bottoms, sliding all the way down until Lena had grabbing Alice’s entire crotch.  Taking it. Like it was her property. The hard base of Lena’s palm just above Alice’s clit. The rest of her palm covering Alice’s slit - like it was property -  and Lena’s long fingers spread out, touching a bit of ass.

Lena hand was making sure that was happening wasn’t something they could “walk back.”  

Alice started to gasp Lena pressed her mouth hard over Alice’s.  Kissing her, depriving her of air. Mouth on mouth. Hand over pussy.  The kiss had a message for Alice. And the message was crystal clear.

“I want all of you.”

Lena’s palm.  Grinding flat and deep against Alice’s clit.  Rubbing it. Taking it. Rough. Sensual. Insistent.  They were suddenly in a new place. They had time traveled.  Suddenly much, much farther along than they’d been just seconds ago.

Lena’s kiss, Lena’s message, Lena’s firm hand deep in between Alice’s legs.  

Alice moaned.  Right into Lena’s mouth.  

The vibration of this moan.  So unexpected. So deep. I traveled deep down inside Alice until it pushed up from under her clit and made it ache under Lena’s hand.

The sound made Lena wet.

\----

Alex was standing on the roof of her condominium, knowing she should get back to Lena but at the same time watching giant rats shredding people and property everywhere she looked!  Alex knew she had to help. She pulled out her DEO radio to call Supergirl.

“I’ll be returning to Lena exactly one minute after I left her,” thought Alex.  “Theoretically it doesn’t matter how long I stay here. What difference could an extra few minutes possible make?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers, the reason this fic exists - well, aside from the fact that I live for your comments (the longer the better) -- is because I'm certain that if I didn't operate under the creedo "write fast / post faster" this fic wouldn't have be what it is now. (ie: long. HA)
> 
> This chapter was written in a noisy environment where I kept being interrupted and I know it's choppy.   
>  You deserve better and I hope you can forgive me for always sharing something written in haste and in dire need of an edit. KISS KISS AND THANK YOU


	34. Chapter 34

If she had simply gone back in time, back to the present…everything that was happening on the timeline Lena and Alice were on would have come to an immediate and abrupt halt.  And everyone would have snapped back to the present. To a time before any of those things happened.

Well readers.  She didn’t. And those things were happening.

And as those things were happening, Alex pressed the call button for Supergirl.

“Supergirl?” said Alex into her headset.

It took less than a second for Supergirl to respond.

“Alex!”

Supergirl’s breath was heavy.  Panting slightly. As if she’d just taken a hit.  In the background, Alex could hear the sound of citizens screaming and things crashing and gusts of air.  Alex had heard those sounds through her earpiece, dozens, no, hundreds of times before. Supergirl was hovering above a critical / active scene.

“Alex, where are you??”  

“I’m on the roof of my apartment,” answered Alex.

“I’ve been calling you non-stop!”  said Supergirl. “Where have you been??”  

Alex wasn’t sure how to answer that.  In the past? In the future? Back in the present before any of this happened?  What answer would her adopted sister understand? Alex didn’t know. She’d jumped two weeks into the future and she had no idea what had transpired on Earth, at the DEO, between her and Supergirl, between her and J’onn.  Alex suddenly realized what a bad idea this was. She didn’t want to start lying to Kara. There was a difference between private things and secret things. And the two Danvers sisters didn’t keep secrets. And as DEO agents, they both knew that secrets - especially at a critical / active scene - could cost lives.  Possibly their own. And Alex would never - EVER - tell a lie that could endanger Kara’s life. Protecting Kara was what she was raised to do. Trained to do. Her work at the DEO was merely the logical extension of all that.

“Alex??”  Supergirl’s tone was the kind of urgent concern that Alex knew all too well.  It meant Supergirl was about to change course and run to her side, eyes on her target, making sure first hand Alex was okay.  Hey - sometimes they get trapped by the enemy and are forced to make calls pretending to be cool, cool, cool when in reality the enemy has a gun to their head.  Kara remembered being trained to handle this type of situation when she first entered the DEO.

“But that’s sooo sneaky and mean!” thought Kara, still learning how devious Human’s could be.  Their lack of honor. Their penchant for control and power. Maybe Alex was in that kind of situation right now!

Alex knew she had to give an answer.  Right. Now. 

“I’ve...I’ve been with Lena,” Alex blurted out.  Technically this was true. And at least it wasn’t a lie.  And at least she gave Supergirl an answer instead of worrying her for one more second.

Reader.  Let’s take a moment.  I need to set the scene.

Supergirl.  High in the air, a cold breeze slightly billowing in her bright red cape, her hair tousled from flying and fighting, (flyting?), slightly out of breath, her feet dangling, her body hanging, her eyes darting here and there, trying to quickly assess the danger below, which is everywhere she looks, the street directly below her, teeming with dozens of rats, all running in a pack, running in a line, heads down, heading north, people in the apartment and store windows, staring out in disbelief and fear, cars windows breaking, car alarms sounding, as thick, heavy rat tails are swatting indiscriminately this way and that, trying to figure out which street to cordon, which person to save, and just as you are realizing that the sister you’ve been desperately trying to radio for the past twenty minutes, ever since this rat infestation was detected by the DEO, just as you suddenly you realize your sister is alive, just as you are experiencing the relief of hearing her voice, combined with realizing that perhaps she’s only alive for a few more moments because she’s being held hostage by - well, obviously by Lillian Luthor or more likely one of Lillian's henchmen - Supergirl never forgot the time that Alex was willing to blow both herself and Lillian up in the name of the greater good of humanity - Kara didn’t sleep for a week, so worried about losing not just her sister but her best friend - and to think that might be what is about to happen, again, right now through this earpiece…

The look on Supergirl’s face was confusion, horror, anticipation, readiness to fly, fight, defend, rescue, all that and more…

And then Alex says, “I’ve been with Lena.”

All I can say, is that after hearing those words, her face clicked to one side, her eyes narrowed and her facial muscles involuntarily all ticked in an “Excuse, me. What?” expression.  Then her face turned angry. Alex couldn’t see it. But when Supergirl finally spoke - Alex heard it.

“That’s just great, Alex.  I hope you two have been having fun,” Supergirl said, and her tone indicated that she thought Alex’s answer was bullshit.

Alex wanted to snap at Kara.  Tell her - I’ve been time-traveling all over creation!  To the past, to the future and back again and again and again on missions with J’onn to stop Lillian!  Don’t make like Lena and I have been sitting around her office eating donuts on her couch and talking about feelings!  That’s YOU. But Alex didn’t say any of those things. This was a secure DEO line and everything they said was recorded and would be reviewed, that was standard DEO protocol for all communications during a critical / active.  Alex held her tongue.

“I think I know where the rats are coming from,” said Alex.  Keeping to the mission at hand. 

Supergirl immediately dropped her pettiness.  If Alex knew the source of the rats, that was the best place to put their efforts.  Being a hero means not sinking low. It was easy for Kara to do. Because Kryptonians aren’t affected by ego like humans are.  It was another one of Kara’s superpowers - although not often discussed. 

In less than a second, Supergirl landed on Alex’s roof.  The two sisters looked at each other as if there wasn’t a single thing in the world they wouldn’t do for each other, or the world.

“The nuclear power plant,” said Alex.

Supergirl nodded.  Alex tucked her head down, closed her eyes and closed her nose with her fingers.   A position she’d learned worked best for when Supergirl took her flying. In less than a second, Alex was wrapped in Supergirl’s arms (NO - NOT BRIDAL STYLE - please) and they had zipped across the sky and were hovering above the nuclear power plant.  Alex opened her eyes, released her nose and they both looked down as a seemingly infinite amount of rats, one by one, kept climbing out of a large sewer grate attached to the facility.

Their faces: half awe-struck, half holy-shit.

As they hovered high in the sky together, Alex radioed it in to the DEO - and together they heard the command for all DEO units to convene at the powerplant with an “any means necessary” directive to stop threats and preserve life.

“I can’t wait for that,” said Supergirl, who flew Alex to the top of one of the powerplants giant cooling towers.  Certainly, no rat could climb up there. “You’ll be safe here.”

“Go,” said Alex.  

Supergirl flew away.  Presumably to fight the rats.  And Alex was left alone. High, high atop a lonely, vast swath of concrete.  In the moonlight. In the dark. She pulled out the time machine and looked at it.  Maybe this was all she needed to do? Direct Supergirl and the DEO to the source of the rats?  Maybe they can take care of it from here and I can go back to the present? Maybe I should get back to Lena?  Alex had never, ever left Supergirl’s side during a mission critical. Or any mission for that matter. What if they need more from me?  What if they come looking for me and I’m not here?

Alex looked and looked at the time machine.  Not knowing what to do. 

\---

Alice’s deep moan startled Lena.  So rich and resonant. And right in her mouth.  Lena wasn’t expecting that. There weren’t many things that Lena hadn’t anticipated well in advance.  And yet this, this all seemed strange and new.

Lena had taken a dominant role in all of her relationships.  Well, I wouldn’t call them relationships. Who can relate to Lena Luthor?  Who truly has anything in common with her? Alex was the first. The first to be able to challenge Lena.  The first to keep up with her. The first to keep her on her toes (and on her back.) All the others, they were playthings.  Lena was expecting this to be like that. 

It wasn’t.

Alice’s hips started to sway and shift on Lena’s palm, which was holding Alice from deep between her legs.  If Lena did this, it would be a power move. Lena’s way of saying, “oh? You think that grabbing my crotch means you have the upper hand?  (lower hand?) Well, watch this. Watch me take back the power by grinding against you. I’m in total control here.”

But that wasn’t the case.  Lena could...feel...it wasn’t.  Alice kept her eyes closed, not to block out sight, but from pure relaxation, and her hips weren’t moving to grind, it was an authentic, pleasure seeking impulse.  There was something innocent and dirty and pure and sexy about it. Wait. Innocent? Pure? Lena’s mind was scrambling.

The Lena deep inside her.  The one with the clipboard.  Scanned through sheet after sheet.  Then put down the clipboard and started throwing open filing cabinet after filing cabinet.  Looking for anything anywhere that had notes on sex being innocent and pure. There was nada.

All of a sudden, Lena felt very uncomfortable.  And being uncomfortable in a sex situation, when Lena was calling all the shots and where her sex partner was responding with enthusiasm...why was this making Lena uncomfortable??  Being uncomfortable was making Lena more uncomfortable and being more uncomfortable made the feelings worse and feeling worse made it even worse and, Readers, Lena Luthor was in a spiral.  And worst of all, the person underneath her, her therapist, the one who seemed to know exactly what Lena was thinking and feeling at all times, was completely and totally unaware.

Lena wanted to gulp.  Alice’s eyes were closed.  It was safe to gulp. So Lena gulped.

But Alice, despite her eyes being closed, despite moaning from the hot hand down her pajamas bottoms and flat in between her legs, felt the gulp.  Alice knew how to lose herself in pure feeling and emotion during sex and during life. She felt the gulp. She felt Lena’s Adam’s apple rise and fall with trepidation.  

Alice opened her eyes.  Looked at Lena. 

Lena’s expression changed.  For one single microsecond, Lena looked lost and scared and present and without answers.  But as soon as Lena saw she was being watched, Lena changed all that. Lena snapped on the sex mask.  The one of pure dominance and control. Her sexy nighttime face. She even raised an eyebrow and smirked as she took her hand and pressed it against Alice’s crotch, swirling it, giving Alice’s clitoral root some pressure and then swirling it.  A dull, ache flooded Alice’s pelvic region. It feel good. Undeniably. Lena could see it.

And yet sadly, none of this seemed to take away the fact that Alice Champion was now looking at Lena with the same type of concern and care that Lena had seen back in the hotel.  Alice Champion was looking at Lena like the woman who was once the little girl Luthor, the one with the fucked up family, the one whose previous therapist died, the one whose brother was in jail and whose mother was as brilliant as she was notorious, the client who specifically had wanted to see a therapist not for any of that but because she had sex and relationship issues.  And even thought it was just for a split second, Alice saw all of those sex and relationship issues play out on Lena’s face as clearly as if it was on the movie screen in slow motion. Lena was vulnerable and without answers. Undeniably. Alice could see it.

Lena realized she’d made thing go from bad to worse.  She’d let herself be seen. Lena felt like a fool. This whole exercise (sexercise?) was to take, not to be had.  Lena had lost the plot for a moment. The whole reason she’d put her hand down Alice’s pants was to make sure she wouldn’t snap back into being Lena’s therapist.  Why was I so stupid to let feeling in? (Out?) Because now all Lena could see was the love and concern of her therapist, coming out of her eyes and pouring out of her body, and suddenly Lena felt more naked that ever.  When Lena last saw this look, she was wearing a bra, a shirt, a coat and even had her purse on her lap. So many layers of protection. And now she was in this whispy kimono which was now wide open, and Lena’s bare breasts were brushing against Alice’s, the room, the atmosphere between them started to chill, as if Lena’s internal doubt and fear was emitting cold frequencies and their nipples both got harder at the same time, reacting physically to the new mood.  A mood of uncertainty. Lena could see. Could sense. That Alice was going to say something. Whatever it was, Lena didn’t want to hear it. Can you imagine? What if it was a question? What if it was “Lena, what are you feeling right now?” Lena didn’t know what she was feeling! And she certainly didn’t want to process it with her therapist - whose bones Lena had just jumped - literally. No. No. No way could Lena face that. Not right now.

As Alice’s mouth opened to ask that very question (Lena was smart, Lena was almost always right), Lena took both of her hands, put them behind Alice’s head and pulled them together for the deepest, most sensual kiss she’d ever kissed.  More sensual, more emotional than anything she’d ever done with Alex. She had to. That was the only way out of this situation. To show Alice, to prove to Alice, through actions, that Lena knew what she was doing, that Lena was present, that Lena wanted this more than she wanted talking. 

Alice felt Lena’s soft tongue enter her mouth, gently licking her on the inside.  It was intoxicating and had the desired effect Lena was looking for. Lena felt Alice relax once again. Felt Alice’s eyes close.  Felt Alice once again lose herself in the moment. 

Perfect, thought Lena.  Alice had almost snapped out of it.  Almost stopped things. Almost became the therapist.  Lena was determined to make sure that wasn’t going to happen again.  Before Alice was ready, Lena kneeled over Alice’s body. Pulled Alice up so they were face to face.  Ripped Alice’s pajama top open. Well, only the top two buttons came apart. This isn’t a movie. This was real life.  It’s hard, if not impossible to rip a line of sewn on buttons off. And frankly, the two buttons that came undone were ripped from the buttonholes  - not clean off the shirt. Still, it was sexy. Lena tearing away at Alice’s clothes. To get closer. The fact that the pajamas were Lena’s and she felt 100% entitled to do absolutely whatever she wanted with them - even destroy them, it was hot.  Undeniably. They both felt it.

Lena didn’t ask.  And Alice didn’t say no.  Lena’s hands quickly went to work on the remaining buttons until Alice’s top was open.  Lena’s hands grabbed the top with both hands and violently pushed them apart so Alice’s breasts were fully exposed.  Lena took a good look at Alice’s tits, making sure Alice knew that the exact size and shape of her bare breasts and nipples had been seen, examined.  It didn’t take long, only a moment. Lena’s eyes blew wide as the next part of the plan came to mind. She quickly put one hand flat on Alice’s chest.  Pushed her back down on the couch, laying underneath Lena, being straddled by Lena, then using her other hand to scooping up Alice’s left breast. Grabbing it, squeezing it like a pastry icing bag, bringing the nipple up.  Rude. Crude. Manhandling. Before Alice was ready, Lena mouth was on her, sucking on Alic’es nipple. Then releasing it. Manhandling the other breast. Sucking that other nipple. 

Take it.  Take it.

Lena was pleased.  I’m sucking her fucking titties.  HA! Lena felt powerful. Alice was a professional and this had crossed every single line, every single boundary that a therapist needs to maintain with a client.  Thinking about this as she sucked and bit and nipped and licked every secret inch of Alice’s nipples made Lena feel smug and powerful and turned on. She made sure to switch back and forth between them, quickly, over and over, taking and taking and making them raw and red and swelled at the wet lipped abuse and the gentle teething and licking.  There was nothing tender about it. This was to make Alice feel completely, all used up. 

Alice put her hands into Lena’s thick raven hair and started to moan with pleasure and Lena felt Alice’s hips shift underneath with wanting.  

The bitch was way into it.  

There was certainly no coming back from this, thought Lena.  

Right?


	35. Chapter 35

Yes.  Lena felt it.  There it was. That delicious feeling deep inside of her.  Power. Personal power. Skill. Magnetism. Those qualities, those energies had unleashed out of Lena like a mist which penetrated Alice’s skin.  A mist Alice inhaled. There was no escape, for the energy of Lena was inside her now. 

Similar to how, when a master violinist glides his bow across the strings, the hollowness of the instrument suddenly finds both itself and the room filled with sound and vibration.  Deep, rich, resonant. Hypnotic. Emotional. Transporting you to new places in an instant. That’s the gift of a master. In the hands of anyone less, when another bow crosses those very same strings, yes, sometimes there is something resembling music, sometimes resembling a song.  Yet often, all too often, it’s the clumsy strokes of an amateur, with incorrect hand placement, arm placement, angles off by degrees, too much tension in their body. Wrists need to be flexible. Right arm relaxed. Oh, there are so so so many subtle yet important postures when filling a hollow body with music.  And not everyone is born with the gifts of ear and tempo. Far fewer have received the education. Even fewer the experience to hone their talents. Finesse rarer still.

Most who pick up the “violin” are only able to conjure sound through herky-jerky movements which are the furthest from anything that could be considered technique.  And these people - the masses, the majority - most are thrilled with their results. Sound! Listen to what I did! Look at me! Sigh. It’s so childlike.

Children are overjoyed at their first, second, third, fourth, fifth attempts at anything ad infinium. Why don’t children know that they have a lot to learn?  Lena knew. Although perhaps that was Lillian - always there to provide this helpful reminder to the girl Lionel brought home. These reminders are how prodigies are made. Lena knew this. Hence her complicated relationship with Lillian.  Lillian is the person most responsible for who Lena became. In a way, she owes everything to her. But how can you repay someone who already took everything? It’s impossible. So Lena, in turn. learned to take the things she needed from others.  Love. Admiration. Approval. Intimacy. Lena practiced and practiced and until she became a virtuoso. 

And she was pulling all of that and more right out of Alice. Out of her breasts, her mouth, her eyes. Alice was dripping in pleasure, literally, and all of the sounds and moans and heat and color coming out was proof that Lena was who she thought she was.  Which was, in a word, Great. Alice’s body had become the instrument and Lena was just getting started on her concerto. She’d thoroughly molested every inch of Alice’s breasts, and as I mentioned - the bitch was into it. Lena felt certain, finally, that there was no way on earth Alice could walk any of this back. 

They were now, officially, on a journey together.  Lena on top. Alice on the bottom. And along the way, Lena would be taking absolutely everything she wanted.  And Alice, well naturally, she’d be surrendering everything to her. Surrendering. Submitting. Succumbing. To Lena.  Her whims. Her desires. Her control. The social contract is so often unsaid. And yet everything that the two of them had just signed on for - I mean, Alice didn’t say no, didn’t say stop, well except for those faint protests at the beginning which Lena decided didn’t exactly count, and certainly not now, not after Alice was moaning in pleasure at Lena’s grabbing her, they had both signed on for an evening of X rated antics.  Lena was so confident in this, that she decided to allow herself a bit of smug indulgence. 

She pushed herself up to her knees and straddled Alice, who laid underneath, eyes closed, bare chested, nipples erect - more than erect - they were pulled up, swollen, still wet and currently a deep shade of crimson.  Alice laid there with her eyes closed, clearly in thrall, clearly enjoying the sensations Lena sent coursing through her body. Luxuriating in these feelings, basking. Probably catching her breath, too. Alice kept laying there, with her eyes closed.  And Lena started to feel like it was taking her a really long time to open her eyes. 

Like, too long.

And as soon as Lena had that thought, she realized it was now very weirdly, waaay too long for Alice to be laying there with her eyes closed.  What the hell is going on with her? 

She was alive.  Lena could see Alice’s chest rising and falling with breath.  And her blood was flowing - that was clear from the redness of the nipples.  And she was smiling. And her hips were slightly swaying underneath Lena. 

Lena’s feelings of control once again turned to doubt.  Alice didn’t look under anyone’s control, didn’t appear to be in a hypnotic thrall.  Alice didn’t look or act like any woman Lena had turned her signature, predatory gaze upon.  Lena asked herself again - What on earth is happening here? 

That’s the moment Alice opened her eyes.  Like an earth goddess, curly locks splayed beneath her head, naked bosoms splayed out on her chest, in repose, having thoroughly been lavished and enjoying the sensations still reverberating in her flesh, with an equally beautiful woman above her, straddling her, with a dark triangle of hair pressing down on Alice’s lighter mound.  The weight of Lena’s body pressed Alice down onto the couch. Pinning her in a way that felt grounded and soothing. It was from this position that Alice opened her eyes.

Lazily.  Dreamily.  Two eyelids slowly opened.  Revealing two soft eyes which gazed upon Lena. Unhurried.  Unbothered. 

Untaken.  Lena was surprised, to say the least.  Luckily - for Lena’s sake - it took Alice so long to “come to” that Lena had that extra second to snap her ‘what the hell?’ face back to her one of controlled seduction.  You’ve seen that face, Reader. Laser green eyes boring deep into their subject. Eyebrows arched. Jawlines ready to cut through any obstacle. And a smug look that said, “you aren’t my enemy, but I’m going to conquer you nonetheless.”

Usually, when Lena served this face, the results were devastating.  People crumbled. Fell to pieces. Fell in love. There was no way that Alice “Pillow Princess” Champion - for that clearly was what Lena was dealing with - a pillow princess.  Someone who loves to just lay back and be serviced. There was no way Alice “PP” Champion was going to survive that look. Which is exactly why Lena gave it. And give it was exactly what Lena was doing.  And yet survive it - Alice was doing more than that. Alice seemed, well, impervious. She just laid there and smiled. A sleepy, satisfied smile. A content, unhurried smile. 

This turn of events meant Lena had to work extra hard to keep the mask up.  Because inside, all Lena could think was, again, “what the hell?” Who on earth responds to being shoved down, blouse torn open and absolutely molested by Lena Luthor’s mouth and hands with sleepy, unhurried contentment??  Reader, would you? Could you? Ever? Those question are of course rhetorical. You wouldn’t. You couldn’t. Never. No one in their right mind could.

So why was Alice able to?

Well, Reader, that’s because…

You know what.  I’ll tell you in just one moment.  Because right at this very moment, Alice started wiggling and shifting underneath Lena.  And not in a sexy way. Alice was trying to get up.  Trying to sit up. Suddenly there was no sexiness. Where did it go? 

“Um...uh...Lena…s’cuse me,” said Alice.  Sliding her torso out from underneath Lena, hoisting herself up to sitting position.  Lena truly had no idea what was happening. Was Alice ending things? Here? At second base?  

Lena got out of the straddling position and let Alice up.  Lena felt so awkward, she just sort of waited until Alice was finished doing whatever it was she was doing, which Lena assumed was getting out of here which is why Lena’s mind was racing, trying to recall if anyone had ever ended a a heavy petting make out session with her by just sort of wriggling away with a strange nonchalance? In a beat, Alice was now on her knees, kneeling face to face with Lena.  Alice took Lena’s hair in her hands like she did before. There was a gentle certainty to Alice’s touch.

“Mmmm.  I love having my nipples sucked on.  More, please.”

Lena’s mind heard what was said.  But instead of responding, inside a plane flew across Lena’s sky-mind, carrying a banner that read “What the Hell.”  Without a question mark at the end.  Because she’d asked it so many times to herself that it wasn’t really a question.  It was more of a statement, a mind marker for her to remember for later review. This events transpiring before her (underneath her?) were definitely going to be recorded for quality and training purposes.

Alice was now sitting up.  Still emanating an unhurried, unchained, unbothered energy.  Somehow Alice had turned the tables. By not playing the game of power.  And she did it - not by stepping away - but by remaining present and participatory.   Never in her whole life had Lena seen anyone do that. Everyone, every single person on Earth, had at least a teeny, tiny bit of fear when in the presence of a Luthor.  Kara did. So did Alex. Supergirl. Superman. Simply every single person on Earth and all the Aliens, too. Maybe especially the Aliens. Listen, you can have a komodo dragon as a pet, you can feed it, you can keep it in a cage.  But you never forget that it’s capable of hurting you. One look at that dragon and the limbic part of your brain takes over. Tells you to beware. That. Thing. Bites.

And yet Alice seemed completely and utterly devoid of fear.  Of consequence. Alice wasn’t trying to dominate or control. And she wasn’t under Lena’s spell.  And now she was kneeling in front of Lena, looking at Lena’s milky white skin, and now Alice’s hands were gliding on Lena’s shoulders and gently pushing the silk kimono down and off, then tracing her fingertips down along Lena’s sides.  And her touch felt exquisite. And Lena was now 100% certain that she wasn’t quite sure about what was going on. Alice emanated a downright cozy feeling, completely at ease with tenderly touching her client’s naked form.

Her freaking client!

When Lena and Alice first met, Alice was clearly uncomfortable.  Lena saw it. Alice had to work at being present in that hotel room.  Had to work at meeting Lena eye to eye. Had to work at making sure Lena didn’t slip away.  Didn’t use slippery word play or logic to avoid emotion. Alice was a human woman struggling to maintain and deliver the highest professional standards for the world’s most damaged little girl.  Lena Luthor.

And Alice was good at her job.  Damn good. Do you think Lena would open up to just anyone?   Do you think Lena would time travel with a rank amateur? Lena knew that Alice would keep her secrets.  And she knew that because Alice radiated fear. Financial fear. Fear of losing her job. Her reputation.  Her clients. Her license. 

Lena looked down at Alice’s breasts, which were still full and taut.  And Alice seemed to be arching her back a bit, lifting her tits up, then leaning them forward towards Lena.  Alice’s eyes looked like pools from an ancient Greek Myth, filled with the clearest more pure waters, pools which could only be reached if the hero passed a test.  Alice was just a slightly rubenesque woman, but right here, right now, something in her felt like a goddess. And this goddess energy seeped into Lena and relaxed her.  No one was trying to control her. Or heal her. Lena was interacting with pure feminine energies, undiluted with the lesser properties of fear or control. It was a completely new experience for Lena, and she was in awe. Lena’s eyes opened just a bit wider and her jaw went slightly slack and her lips parted as a new question arose. 

How did she do that?

Alice seemed completely unaware of Lena’s state of mind.  Or perhaps more accurately, if Alice was aware of it, it didn’t affect her.  Not at all. She remained the same. Steady. True. Earthy. Present. Leaning in, suddenly Alice’s breasts were pressed against Lena.  Alice was rocking left and right, slowly, sensually rubbing her chest, her tits, against Lena. And as she did this, Lena’s mouth dropped open just a bit more, more relaxed than before.  Alice’s hands petted Lena’s thick dark hair. Alice looked Lena in the eyes. Then Alice spoke in a tone that feel like it came out of a dream.

“I love having my tits sucked.  Put your mouth on them again.”

The reason it felt like it came out of a dream was simple.

Alice thought she was dreaming.  

It’s not rocket science, Reader.  Alice had done this several times so far in this fic.

Did Lena know that Alice thought she was dreaming?  No. Of course she didn’t. Why would she? They were both wide awake.  What was happening was very, very real. Granted, things were strange. Things weren’t adding up.  Alice was acting in a way Lena would have never predicted.

Utterly fearless of the Luthor in Lena.

This lack of fear was a tonic to Lena.  Of safety. A tonic of love and approval and acceptance.  Lena was suddenly feelings things she’d never felt before. On a level she hadn’t known about. Lena instantly knew that no amount of bedroom virtuosity or skill or personal magnetism or even genius could ever come close to what Alice was creating inside Lena right here, right now.

Lena’s soul was responding. Powerfully.  As soon as Lena heard the command, she crouched down as instructed, as if under hypnotic suggestion, then softly cupped her hands around Alice’s right breast, wrapped her lips around Alice’s nipple, and began sucking in a slow, measured pace.  The exact same pace that Alice was using to caress Lena’s head and hair. So natural and easy. Lena could feel the pleasure Alice was receiving. Her hips wiggling, her hands, petting, little satisfied moans of ease and contentment and sensuality.

And as Alice’s client dutifully sucked her breasts, Alice thought to herself,  Why shouldn’t it this be the way? It’s my dream after all. And in dreams, you can have anything you want.

“Mmmm, that’s it, Lena.  Good girl.”

Lena could hear in Alice’s tone.  They were just getting started.


	36. Chapter 36

Supergirl flew down to the base of the powerplant, where one by one, giant rats were wriggling themselves out a grate that was just inches wider than their skulls.  It was pretty gross to watch. Their big fat bodies. Squishing all their internal organs and fat behind them. Pushing their skull through the hole, then, stuffing the rest of themselves through, inch by awful inch.  It was a like a sausage maker of rats. Supergirl could tell by the expression on the rat’s face that it was not just forcing itself through, it was being pushed from behind. It’s eyes looked confused and surprised each time it was thrust from behind.  And yet determined to make it through. Squeezing through this sort-of birth canal, the rat was a part of a process. One that it was powerless to stop.

And when it did get out, it’s hind legs scraping and pushing itself forward, then the tail, so long, trailing behind like a straggler that couldn’t ever keep up, it ran north across the dark field, following the other rats.  They seemed to be running with purpose, towards something in particular. Or was it just a hive mind? Everyone following the first, not knowing why the first went in that direction in the first place. Staying with the group is one of the keys to survival, for humans and for animals.  Being alone is one of the most dangerous things an animal can do. Alone is what predators look for. 

Alone is where Alex was.

She couldn’t leave Supergirl’s side.  Not when they were in the middle of a city-wide disaster.  Certainly not before DEO backup arrived. Alex put the time machine away, ran to the side of the cooling tower and looked down the 500 foot curved wall and saw the scene below.  Supergirl was punching rats in the face. Knocking them out cold one by one as they exited the powerplant, then using their tails to drag them to the side, as the next rat pushed its way out.  There were about 12 rats all around Supergirl. 

She felt bad.  She wasn’t one to hurt animals.  She’d just finished dragging another unconscious rat to the side when she looked up and saw Alex staring down.  Supergirl shrugged her shoulders. What else could she do? Until the DEO arrived.

Alex pressed on her radio.  “Supergirl, I think the grate is in the field behind you.  About ten meters east.”

Using super speed, Supergirl combed through the dark swath of grasses, found the grate, went back to the hole, where the newest rat was pushing through, knocked it out, shoved it back inside, put the grate up, then used heat vision to weld all the edges shut, then jumped back as various rat snouts pushed through the open squares, sniffing and snarling and biting.  Then Supergirl flew back up to the top of the cooling tower and was face to face with her adoptive sister.

“Great idea,” said Supergirl.  Only a second had passed since Alex had made the suggestion. 

“We can’t just wait here until the DEO arrives.  We’ve got to stop the rats at the source,” said Alex.

“Inside the powerplant,” said Supergirl.  Alex nodded. That’s exactly what she meant.

“One human and one alien versus hundreds of monsters inside a nuclear power plant.  I like those odds,” said Supergirl. The two sisters shared a smile. This is what they did best.  That delicious inner feeling welled up inside of them. The feeling of being sisters, best friends, heroes.  Who had each other’s backs no matter what. Who shared each other’s values. Courage. Bravery. Together they could do anything.  And the clock was ticking. I mean, they were also both adrenaline junkies. Although they never spoke about that. That part didn’t seem very heroic.  The first rule of being a junkie is don’t talk about being a junkie. 

“Elevator down?”  asked Supergirl. Alex’s eyes burned with purpose and clarity.  The Danvers sisters needed to save the city. She nodded in the affirmative.  And Supergirl flew them down to the facility’s entrance.

Lena Luthor was the furthest thing from Alex’s mind.

\---

Alice was surprised to find just how exquisite Lena’s mouth felt on her breasts.  Perfect heat. Perfect pressure. Perfect sucking. Not too hard, not too soft. Just right.  Wow. Alice pulled Lena’s hair back, gathering it all up. Lena’s hair felt so soft. So silky.  So thick.

So real.

Alice was on her knees, half naked, on Lena Luthor’s couch, in Lena Luthor’s penthouse, with Lena Luthor, fully naked, also on her knees, ministering to Alice’s needs with her mouth.  Quiet. Pliant. Dutiful.

This is obviously a dream.

Outside the windows, the vast expanse of city lights, spreading out in all directions.  The view was breathtaking. The view outside the windows. And the view below. Lena sucking was making her cheekbones extra defined, and her closed eyelids, with her long dark lashes falling on her face looked angelic in the soft light.

Alice tried to remember the other parts of the dream.  Lena had been telling her about her girlfriend, her sex problems, then I met the girlfriend, then I was at Lena’s childhood home, reading about her family history in that book.  This dream seemed endless. And yet these moments flashed through Alice’s mind in an instant. Maybe they were just dream flashes. Little vignettes, pictures, that the mind knew were so much more.  

Alice took her hands away from Lena’s hair, letting it fall down Lena’s bare back.  Then Alice took her fingertips and brushed them along behind Lena’s ears. Everything felt so real.

Lena’s mouth opened.  Lena took in a big gulp of air.  Her eyes opened and Lena took in several big gulps of air.

Alice put her hand under Lena’s chin and raised it so Lena was looking directly up into Alice’s eyes.

“Did you forget to breathe?” asked Alice.

Lena nodded yes.

“Take your time,” said Alice.  

This simple statement contained so much.  Technically, grammatically, it was a command.  The tone, however, the true meaning was for Lena to take care of her own well being.  Lena wasn’t used to this kind of bedroom talk. 

Alice could see the unsureness in her client’s eyes.  

“There’s no need to rush.  Just be here with me.” Alice wiggled a bit as she said it, her whole body ever so slightly undulating, and now Alice was doing a slight dance, swaying for Lena, her breasts and her belly and her hips moving to and fro, with her hands drifting down Lena’s face to her neck and brushing the tops of Lena’s shoulders.  

Lena realized she’d stopped breathing again and took in another gulp of air.  Lena looked away from Alice. Looked down to the floor as she wondered why she was suddenly needed all this air.  Why was she holding her breath. Alice’s hand was now rubbing Lena’s back in a comforting motion.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.  Breathe,” said Alice. Protective.  Kind. Patient.

Lena put her hand to her chest.  Felt her heartbeat. Normal. Lena blinked a few times.  Her breath normalized. She felt shy. Didn’t know where to look.  Anywhere but Alice.

Alice could tell Lena needed a moment.  Alice knew when to push and when to wait.  After a beat, Alice used her nails to make a gentle, long, sexy scratches along Lena’s back.  Alice turned Lena’s torso a bit, facing her even further away, giving Lena even more privacy, which felt good and then suddenly Alice was placing baby kisses up along Lena’s back, which felt incredible.  Alice had placed one, two, three kisses up Lena’s side. Four, five, six kisses up her spine. She heard Lena take in another deep gulp of air. Alice was crawling behind Lena, pushing Lena’s hair aside, then kissing the base of Lena’s neck, and around the sides, hands and fingers scratching up Lena’s triceps, leaning in, Alice’s breasts and nipples grazed the bare skin of Lena’s back, then Alice’s mouth was on Lena’s left ear, Alice’s hot breath on Lena’s earlobe.

“Lena, do you want more?” Alice’s voice was low and sultry, and the hint of a midwestern accent came out and all of this was turning Lena on.  More than that, though. It was melting her.

Lena knew there was a part of her that had been frozen.  Frozen in time. Frozen like the polar ice cap. Lena’s true north, was a beautiful yet hostile subzero territory that few people ever attempted to visit.  Many lost their lives trying to do so. Lena knew all of this. What she didn’t know was that it could melt. She could melt. On the inside.

“Mmm?” purred Alice.  Lena was strangely mute.  Alice kissed her way over to the other side. Took her time pulling the hair away and tucking it behind Lena’s ear.  Lena was expecting to be asked another question and braced herself for it. Because Lena wasn’t sure what was happening inside her, wasn’t sure what to say about it.  Lucky for Lena, Alice didn’t ask anything. She just softly blew a hot breath on Lena. On her ear, on her neck. Emitting an almost inaudible hum as she did so. 

“Mmmmmm.”

Lena’s pussy reacted faster than her mind.  Alice’s little touches and sounds and heat send little bolt of electricity through Lena.  Lena’s pussy gave a subtle ache. The beginnings of a throb. It was opening.

Lena just nodded.  Nodded yes. Letting Alice know that she did, in fact, want more.  She just couldn’t say it.

The dipping down of Lena’s head as she told Alice her needs, her desires.  It made Alice smile. 

A smile of self-satisfaction.  For every single thing that was happening was a product of Alice’s imagination.  The people. The setting. The events. All of it was Alice. She was the writer, the director, the set designer.  She was the Alpha and the Omega.

Alice knew that you could solve problems in the dreamtime.  And this dream was serving multiple purposes.

For one, Alice was practicing interacting with Lena Luthor without fear.  She knew she had a real appointment with Lena coming up. I think it’s at a hotel.  Yes. That’s why I pictured us interacting in a hotel. And now we’re here in her apartment.  Naturally I would make it a penthouse. A penthouse is high above everyone else. That’s how I see Lena.  And the view outside - complete darkness. The Luthors are a dark family. And the lights below symbolize everyone else.  Luthors don’t see other people as people. To a Luthor, people are just little dots. How can you understand what you can’t see?

And I’m obviously working out some anxiety before this appointment.  Of course, I’m nervous to meet Lena Luthor. Who wouldn’t be? She could make or break my career.  Maybe she’ll be mean. Maybe she’ll be fake. What better way to work out one’s anxiety than to picture the other person naked?  Well, I’ve certainly done that.

Alice’s hands went around to Lena’s front and sweetly scooped up both of Lena’s breasts.  Yes. She’s definitely, very, very naked. Alice brushed her thumbs over the tops of Lena’s nipples and Lena shuddered from feeling Alice’s nipples on her back and having her nipples fondled at the same time.  Another deep, dull ache traveled through Lena. And this time the hips of the Luthor Lassa gave a bit of a wiggle.

Pleased, Alice continued marveling at what she was working out in the dream.  Like managing countertransference, for example. Do you think it’s possible for a therapist to sit in front of a human being, to have that person open up to them, share their deepest fears, their most painful histories, and not want to cross the room and give that client a comforting hug??  It’s strictly forbidden. And the forbidden physical contact can create powerful feelings in the therapist that need to be worked out. Yes. That’s what was happening, as well. I’m doing everything that’s ever been taboo with me and all of my clients, here with my newest, soon-to-be client.  The dreamtime is the only place that’s safe to explore these taboos. To allow myself to indulge in all the secret thoughts and fantasies, to play them out, without restriction, in my mind. In my subconscious. That way they won’t interrupt my conscious life. Yes. This dream is doing a lot for me.  Alice felt very clever indeed. 

God this dream feels so fucking good, she thought   For you see, Lena had turned around and began sucking on Alice’s breasts again.  And Alice knew it was happening because she wanted it to. She wanted to be with Lena Luthor, as equals.  What better way to level the playing field than to strip both sides of all their “armor.”

In fact, i’m not just her equal.  As the therapist, I’m the expert. She’s hiring me specifically for me to guide her, to teach her, to show her.  As soon as Alice had that thought, she took both of her hands, used them to lift both of her breasts up, feeding them to Lena, guiding Lena exactly how and when to take turns with each nipple.  Lena kept sucking like a schoolgirl. Apt pupil.

And I’m not just working out my problems, thought Alice.  I’m practicing what I might do with her. Once we meet. I have a feeling she wants to talk about relationships.  That’s what all therapy comes down to, isn’t it? Relationships? With self, others and The World. If Lena Luthor was dating anyone, the magazines would be all over that.  So she either dates in secret, or she’s lonely. Either is a personal disaster. Lonely from alone. Or lonely from lies. Lena Luthor had to be living a tragic life. Everyone knew that.  To be so smart, so beautiful, so rich and so lonely. Let’s face it, if Lena wasn’t a stunner, the magazines wouldn’t write about her as much. But she truly has it all. Well, if all means everything but love and friends and freedom.  Which meant Lena Luthor had nothing at all. Her life was a fairytale. Grimm. Something to be read and learned from so that you may gain the knowledge needed to avoid a similar fate. Pricked fingers. Secret names. Rumplestiltskin.  Girl with the beautiful hair locked in a tower by her mother.

Alice was realizes what Lena needed.  And she was already delivering it. An expression of authentic care.  Her unfiltered, unfettered subconscious was already delivering the solution.  The dream was becoming lucid. Alice was understanding what was happening and why and how to control it.  

Lena chose me, didn’t she?  Lena Luthor didn’t just throw a dart against a wall full of therapists names.   She must have researched and vetted. I must have met some sort of criteria. And in the end, she chose me.  She wanted me.

Lena wants me.

“You want me, don’t you?” cooed Alice.

Lena kept her eyes closed, looking like a little angel.  Kept sucking. While nodding her head up and down.

Yes she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to be continued...


	37. Chapter 37

“You want me, don’t you?” cooed Alice.  
Lena noticed her head go up and down, nodding in assent.  Her body was answering before her brain finished hearing the question.  

For Lena, this was very, very odd.  Deep inside, the clipboard-holding Lena jotted this data point down.  An unbiased observer, she noticed that everything was working in concert: mouth sucking, nose taking in air, head nodding yes, eyes closed to aid both concentration and relaxation.  Answers were appearing from somewhere other than the intellect. How could this be? Was it the subconscious mind? The self? The soul? 

Lena didn’t spend much time studying any of the “soft-sciences.”  (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology.) She was much more interested in things were certain.  Reliable. Predictable. Quantifiable. Lena was interested in the forces which determine outcomes.  And the four powers in the known world are electromagnetic, gravitational, the weak interaction and the strong interaction.  Read that again. It’s as if the entire universe was a seduction. It’s all attraction. Between the weak and the strong.

Despite the fact that sucking on Alice’s nipples was transporting Lena to a place to internal bliss, the thought that she was in in the weak position, servicing another, snapped her back to an awareness that took her out of the bliss, out of the freefall and out of the freedom.  She suddenly needed to prove that she was more powerful. 

Lena took her mouth off Alice’s breast.  And her mouth suddenly felt empty. Her stomach had a pit in it.  From loss. The only thing that wanted to stop sucking was Lena’s ego.  Lena furiously wrote this down on the clipboard. Went back to watching.  Learning. About herself.

Lena looked up at Alice, who had just opened her eyes.  Neither knew what was happening. Or why. Or what would happen next.  

\---

Supergirl and Alex entered the powerplant.  Headed towards the noise. There was a humming, something mechanical.  Coming from deep inside. As they neared it, a buzz, a flash, then scritching and scratching.  Twisting and turning down hallways, as they reached what was clearly the source, they secreted themselves, then peeked around the entryway to look at what was inside.  Alex head below, Supergirl’s head above. Both of their eyes opened wide at what was before them.

A time machine.  A giant time machine.  In fact, it was the exact same one used at the Green family horse farm.  Except here, it wasn’t transporting a horse. This one was zapping giant rats from some other time right here in the present.

ZAP!  A giant rat appeared on the bullseye platform painted on the ground.  It was disoriented. It sniffed scents. Realized other rats had been here.  Followed the scent trail out the east corridor. Then the man operating the machine - one of Lillian’s goons - programmed the machine.  Pressed a series of buttons. Raised his wrist and watched the second hand tick tick tick away the seconds.

Supergirl whispered to her sister, “They’ve developed a machine that creates giant rats.”  

Alex whispered back, “It’s not making them.  It’s bringing them here from somewhere else.”

“A teleportation device?” asked Supergirl.

“No,” said Alex.  “A time machine. These rats are...from the future.”

They stood up and talked in secret around the corner.

“From the future?  How can you tell?” asked Supergirl.

“I can feel it in my gut.  My stomach feels…” Alex checked her vitals.  “My stomach is in knots and is sick and…”

Suddenly, Alex doubled over.  She felt like she was going to throw up.  Why?

\---

Lena got on her knees.  Pushed Alice down. Put on the sexy.  Alice was not immune. Now her body was reacting.  Even in the half-light, Lena saw the top half of Alice turn flush with heat.

\---

“Alex, what’s wrong?”  Supergirl crouched down to tend to her sister, who looked green.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” said Alex.  Her mouth was lying before her mind could come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t fine at all.  

“Do you need a hospital?” asked Supergirl.

Alex grabbed Supergirl’s arm tight, “Do.  Not. Fly. Me. Anywhere.” Alex’s eyes said it all.  If you fly me anywhere, I will puke all over you and the city.  

“I won’t,” said Supergirl.  

Just hearing that brought Alex some relief.  And with relief came a bit of strength. And with strength came resolve.

“I must be allergic to the rats,” said Alex.  

This seemed like a plausible explanation.  Although any astute reader of this fic would insert the “Sure, Jan” meme here.  Because the rats had absolutely nothing to do with Alex’s feelings at this moment.  

\---

“Lena, what are you…”  Alice was on her back again and Lena grabbed Alice’s thighs and yanked her close, pulling her pussy towards her while simultaneously spreading her.

“What does it look like I’m doing,” asked Lena.  Eyebrow arching. Fingertips tracing the inside of Alice’s thighs.  Ripples of sensation up and down Alice’s legs, then all the way up her spine landing on the crown of her head.  Alice’s mouth opened involuntarily. Lena’s power was working. Creating the predictable responses. The power gave Lena a pleasurable surge from the inside.  Yes. She was the one in control. 

“Lena, you can have what you want…” said Alice.  Lena licked her lips. Alice continued, “If…”

If.

It wasn’t a word Lena heard very often.  A condition. A limitation. Few people were able to impose conditions and limitations on Lena.  On the one had, the novelty of someone - anyone - lobbying an” if” in Lena’s direction was enjoyable.  On the other hand, who was Alice to impose any conditions on Lena at all? She was a contracted employee.  She was being paid. Luthor’s didn’t tolerate backtalk from anyone - especially staff. Alice saw a myriad thoughts and feelings wash over Lena.  

“If…” continued Alice taking Lena’s hands in hers.  “If after you’re done…” Alice brought Lena’s hands in close.  Started kissing each knuckle, each fingertip. “You let me touch you and taste you.”

A deep bolt of - what was it? - desire?  Longing? Pleasure? Shot through Lena. Alice kept kissing.  Kept talking. “Promise me that you’ll let me make you cum.” Lena was melting on the inside.  So much furious note-taking on the clipboard. What was happening? How did Lena keep losing control.  And why did all this losing feel like a win? 

“I don’t want you to just take me.  I want you, too.” Alice stopped kissing.  Looked at Lena. Then took Lena’s hands and slowly gilded them down her neck, her bare breasts, her torso, her belly.  

“Will you let me do that, Lena?”  Now it was Lena’s mouth that opened a bit.  And once again, before her mind realized what was happening, Lena’s head nodded yes.

Lena bent down, lowering herself into prime pussy eating position, was about to take her first taste of Alice when suddenly Alice’s hands were on Lena’s face, pulling her up, Alice nearly sitting up, looking worried, looking urgent.

“Do you promise?” asked Alice.  

This wasn’t just bedroom talk.  The intensity. The purpose. It was a pact.  An oath. A contract. Alice was putting everything on the line.  Their relationship hung in the balance. 

“I promise,” said Lena. 

When the words left Lena’s mouth, a new reality was created.  For promises aren’t just mere words. A promise creates an energy.  And this energy can move mountains. Through the law of attraction, a promise demands fulfillment or the people involved will feel its effects through lifetimes.  One day the hard sciences will realize this.

Lena’s sixth sense tingled as she issued the words and Alice relaxed as she heard them.  Alice was trained to sense the truth behind words uttered, she had mastered the soft sciences.  And soft was what Lena had been feeling this entire time. Alice’s soft touch, her soft lips, her soft ways and words.  Lena had not studied the soft sciences. This was all new.

She dipped low, again.  All of her plans to masterfully lick and suck Alice’s snatch suddenly disappeared.  Without thinking, her mouth swallowed and started sucking Alice’s clit in the exact same way she did with her nipple.  Instantly losing herself in the moment, rhythmically bobbing and sucking and breathing and nodding. 

“Oh, god,” said Alice, who threaded her hands in Lena’s hair, just as she’d done earlier.  Laid back and wriggled her hips, making the most subtle motions right into Lena’s mouth. Both of their bodies working in concert, in alignment, both totally relaxed.  Freefalling.

\---

Alex and Supergirl were about to charge in and overtake the Cadmus good operating the time machine, when suddenly Alex turned away and threw up all over the floor.

“Alex!”  said Supergirl.  Eyes wide with compassion and concern.  

A deep feeling of dread.  Of fear. Of anger. Where was this coming from?  Alex stood up and wiped her mouth. Looked at Supergirl and said, “Let’s kick some Cadmus ass.”

The second hand on the goon’s watch hit 12.  He flipped the switch on the machine. And just as the two Danvers sisters stormed inside the room, a giant rat appeared on the bullseye.

“I’ll get the big rat, you take the small,” said Supergirl.

“On it,” said Alex, who pulled out her DEO issued blaster, shot the lock clean off the cage the goon was working from (to protect him from rat-attack), flung the door open, yanked the goon out by his collar, threw him against the wall and starting kicking his ass using every type of hand-to-hand combat she’d been taught.  

Supergirl had the rat by the tail and spun around with superspeed.  The centrifugal force so strong it knocked the rat out cold. Within seconds, the rat was subdued.  Supergirl saw her sister punching and kicking and karate-chopping the Cadmus guy as if...as if it were personal.

Hmmm.  I wonder why that could be?

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and feedback most welcome.


End file.
